


Death Becomes Them

by MandalorianHybrid



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Friendship/Love, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Past Attempted Suicide, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2019-11-28 03:00:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18202595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MandalorianHybrid/pseuds/MandalorianHybrid
Summary: Seventeen years ago, Reginald Hargreeves replaced Number Five, much to the anger of his children. Most of her new "siblings" never quite seemed to warm up to their adoptive sister. She did, somehow, find solace with an eccentric psychic, the sweetest horror she'd ever met, and the most timid being outside a rabbit community she'd ever seen. But a lot's changed since they were kids. The real Number Five is back, the world's about to end, and there are some viciously hurt feelings. Does she bother helping the only family she ever had?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little something I'm giving a try. I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think!

**Seventeen Years Ago:**

Pogo heard the knock at the door, and with a furrowed brow, moved to answer it. No one came to call at the Academy, at least not someone without an appointment. He knew, for certain, that whoever stood on the other side of the door did not have an appointment.

 

Through the frosted glass emblazoned with the school’s logo, Pogo spied a silhouette. It was little taller than he, and narrow in frame --a child, or an adult of diminutive size. He knew that Grace should perhaps answer the door, but that didn’t stop him from doing it. With the release of the comic books, it’d become common knowledge that Pogo existed.

 

He stepped through the first set of doors in the vestibule, and then unlocked the outermost. When he opened it, he found that his previous assessment had been correct. It was a child that stood on the stoop. A young girl, perhaps twelve, maybe thirteen years old, stood before him with a shocked expression she tried to keep hidden. He wasn’t surprised. A walking, talking chimp wearing clothes and glasses wasn’t what people tended to expect.

 

The girl was ragged in appearance. Her clothes, which consisted of a t-shirt, jeans that bore holes and dirty stains, and an oversized jacket made for a man much larger than her had seen far better days. Her dark hair was tied up high in a bun, but had the dull sheen of something that hadn’t been washed in some time. Her hands were dirty, and while her face was cleaner, he knew she hadn’t bathed in a while. At least, not bathed fully and completely.

 

“May I help you, Miss?” He asked in his casually polite voice.

 

“I’d like to speak with Mr. Hargreeves, please.” She replied, just as politely, and with a similar accent.

 

Pogo tiled his head marginally to the side. A pain began in his heart. It wasn’t uncommon for children to appear at the door wanting to be invited in. More than once a poor soul had to be turned away, and it appeared he would have to do it again.

 

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that’s quite impossible.” He told her. “Good day, Miss.”

 

“No, please,” She jammed her foot in the threshold before he had the chance to close the door. Pogo looked up at her staring at him with sad, ice-blue eyes on the verge of tears. “I have nowhere else to go. He’s the only one that can help me control what’s wrong with me.”

 

Pogo’s brows furrowed. He looked over the seemingly plain young girl again. “You’ve a power, child?”

 

Still bearing a fearful and depressed stare, she nodded. Pogo hesitated for a moment. He knew he shouldn’t let the girl into the Academy, but, if she did indeed have a power, he couldn’t very-well turn her away. Sir Hargreeves would want to meet her. Then again, that was another problem. Did Pogo truly want to give the old man another piece to further his collection? For a good few minutes Pogo thought before, against his better judgment, he stepped aside and motioned for her to follow him in.

 

“Follow me, Miss.” He told her. She did as he said.

 

As he guided her through the palatial home and toward Sir Hargreeves’ office, he would glance periodically at her. She hadn’t set her eyes forward once. Ever since entering the building, her gaze darted over everything around her. He understood. It was a lot to take in all at once.

 

When they reached the office, Pogo brought her inside. Hargreeves was behind his desk with his nose down in his journal, scribbling away at any number of things. It was rare to see him otherwise unless in the middle of training the children.

 

“Sir,” Pogo said, alerting the old man to his presence. “There is a young girl here to speak with you about attending the Academy.”

 

“Send her away.” Hargreeves said without bothering to glance up.

 

“But Sir,”

 

“I have no interest in speaking to another random urchin looking for a handout, or somewhere to belong.”

 

Pogo sighed and his shoulders fell. He almost dreaded looking at the young girl, unwilling to see the crestfallen expression that undoubtedly took her face, but when he managed, he saw only anger.

 

“Then who’s the old man who tried to buy me when I was little?” She asked with a stern edge. “He’s the one I need to find.”

 

Pogo was surprised by her words, but even more so by the fact that they roused Hargreeves from his work.

 

“When were you born, girl?” He asked, addressing her directly for the first time since she’d entered the room.

 

“October first, eighty-nine.” She replied unsurely.

 

“What time?” Hargreeves didn’t bother hiding his skepticism or annoyance with the situation.

 

“Noon, I think.” Her face twisted with confusion. “What’s that have to do with anything?”

 

He didn’t answer her question, and instead asked another of his own.

 

“And what is this power you think you have?”

 

“Water.”

 

He raised a single brow. “Water.” He repeated in a deadpan tone. She nodded. “What about water?”

 

Pogo could tell his master wasn’t entertained by the seemingly lackluster answers he was getting, and it worried him. He didn’t wish to throw an obviously homeless little girl out onto the streets. If she truly was the same age as the others, she was only thirteen years old -far too young to be on her own.

 

“I can manipulate it.” She told him plainly. “And I can sense it everywhere, in the air, in plants, people.”

 

For the first time since the conversation had begun, Hargreeves looked interested. What followed was a brisk conversation and small demonstration of the young girl’s gift. Pogo smiled to himself as she commanded a bit of water to undulate and shift within a glass. It was minimal, but promising. It meant that Hargreeves would keep her, and help hone her gift.

 

“Congratulations.” Hargreeves said without any true emotion. “This is your new home. I will assign you the proper number later, and that shall be your name.”

 

“But my name is-“

 

“Irrelevant.” Hargreeves interrupted her, cutting short any explanation she might have had. “Pogo, take the child to one of the extra rooms and find her something appropriate to wear. Once that’s been done, we shall introduce her to the others.”

 

“Yes, Sir.” Pogo nodded and motioned for her to follow him once again. As they made their way upstairs, he turned to her. “My name is Pogo, as I’m certain you heard. What is yours?”

 

“Andorra Croix.” She replied.

 

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Andorra.” He smiled. “I hope you will enjoy your stay here.”

 

She offered him a small, half-smile, which he expected.

 

* * *

 

 

Andorra felt uncomfortable in her clothes. She had never worn a uniform before, let alone one that looked as though it belonged in the nineteen-fifties. She hated the pleated shirt, the fitted blazer, and the knee-high socks. She hated that her hair was pulled back from her face, and that her _only_ clothing was seven identical outfits. She was no longer permitted to wear anything else.

 

Pogo appeared in her doorway and smiled warmly. She wondered briefly if she’d ever be used to seeing him.

 

“Everyone is waiting in the library.” He said. “This way.”

 

Her introduction to the family was… well, there weren’t really words to describe the horrible situation. Hargreeves introduced her as “the new Number Five”. Andorra saw the shock and anger instantly take hold of the others’ faces when he said so, but she was confused. When she tried to protest, stating that even she knew there was already a Number Five, Hargreeves ignored her and left.

 

The lingering six children eyed her angrily. Five of them did, at least. The girl introduced as Number Seven seemed too meek and mild to be angry. She simply looked hurt.

 

“You’ll _never_ be Number Five.” The one introduced as Number Two snapped hatefully while he clutched a knife.

 

“I’m not trying to be.” She snapped back. Just because she understood why they were mad didn’t mean she liked it. Andorra was just as angry as them. “I only wanted to learn how to control my power, not…” She picked at her uniform and scowled. “Not be adopted by the Von Trapps.”

 

Number Two scoffed and walked away, followed shortly by Number One. Number Three glanced her up and down before she left as well. Number Four and Number Six seemed annoyed, but disinterested in her, as though they felt the same as the others, but weren’t going to put forth effort telling Andorra something she already knew. They disappeared as well, leaving her alone with the timid Number Seven.

 

“I’m not trying to replace your brother.” Andorra mumbled. She felt, for some reason, that she had to explain. Screw the angry guy. If he wanted to be a jerk, she’d give as good as she got, but Andorra felt as though she had to sincerely tell Number Seven the truth. “I’m not.”

 

Number Seven stepped forward, barely willing to meet Andorra’s eye for long. She paused roughly arm’s length away, and seemed to think something over before offering her hand.

 

“I’m Vanya.” She said.

 

A small, relieved smile tugged at Andorra’s lips. She took the offered appendage. “Andorra.”

 

“We just lost Number Five.” She explained. “He’s been missing for a month, so everyone is still really upset.”

 

“What happened to him?”

 

Andorra had read the comics like most everyone else, so she knew there was already a Number Five, but she had no idea he was missing.

 

Vanya shrugged. “We don’t know. He just vanished."

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Vanya gave a short, small nod. That was the end of the conversation, and Andorra knew it. When Vanya looked up at her again, she smiled.

 

“Want a tour?” She asked with measured excitement.

 

“Yeah, sure.” Andorra smiled in response. “Thanks.”

 

“Come on,”

 

Together, the two made their way through the vast, winding halls of The Umbrella Academy.

 

 

* * *

 

 

**Now:**

 

Andorra walked down the street with a bag of groceries tucked in her arm. She glanced only briefly at the newspaper vendor as she did, scanning the headlines with mild interest at best. But one in particular caught her attention and held tight.

 

**Eccentric Billionaire Reginald Hargreeves, Dead.**

 

She found herself staring at the article for longer than she would have originally thought. She was happy for it, happy that the old bastard was dead. The news brought a very real smile to her face, actually. Who she’d initially thought was a Godsend, turned out to be the Devil in disguise. He deserved to be dead. All the same, Andorra felt the need to attend the memorial she knew would probably happen. Part of her would possibly mourn the old man, but a much larger part wanted to see his body. She wanted proof that he was no longer breathing because it would bring her untold joy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during episode 1.

 

**Now:**

 

Andorra lingered on the stoop for a moment or two without bothering to enter. She felt an immediate chill tear down her spine at the sight of the umbrella emblem, one that centralized around her left wrist and made it burn, and ache. The sensation had become overwhelming the moment she stepped through the threshold. She was immediately bombarded with horrible memories and things that made her skin crawl. A scowl instantly twisted her features.

 

“Oh my God,” She heard Diego snap. She headed toward the library where the family was clearly set up. “Who gives a _shit_ about a monocle?”

 

“Exactly,” Luther replied. “It’s worthless. Whoever,”

 

He seemed to sense that someone else had walked in on their conversation, and paused. Luther and Diego were the first to see her, but the others slowly followed their line of sight. A sly, crooked smirk twisted her full lips.

 

“Hi, there.” She said.

 

“Andy,” Vanya sounded as shocked as she looked when she spoke. Diego looked angry, which didn’t surprise her. Luther and Allison seemed uncertain as to why she was there. Again, she expected as much. What actually hurt was that Klaus refused to look at her, more content to swallow whole mouthfuls of alcohol and suck sharply on his cigarette.

 

“What are you doing here?” Diego asked briskly.

 

“I wanted to make sure the boogeyman was dead.” She told him simply. Andorra let her eyes glide back to the two on the couch. “Hey, V. Klaus.”

 

Klaus didn’t react in the least, but Vanya offered her version of a smile –weak and uncertain like she was.

 

“Hi,” She said as she rose to her feet.

 

She offered Andy a hug, which the young woman accepted.

 

“Anyway,” Luther said, drawing any lingering attention back to him. “We were kind of in the middle of something. Do you mind?”

 

“No, not at all.” She said as she held up her hands. “Please, continue.”

 

Luther and Diego continued to eye her, but Andy made no motions to leave, something they realized quickly.

 

“Then go away.” Diego told her.

 

“She’s part of this family, too.” Vanya said.

 

Diego’s brows rose sarcastically. Not only was he clearly shocked by Vanya’s “commanding” statement, but the context of it, too.

 

“The hell she is.” He said sternly. “She wasn’t raised with us.”

 

“Yeah,” Allison interjected, but she didn’t sound overly enthusiastic about the concept. “She was.” Allison glanced briefly to Andorra before focusing again on her brother. “She was here long enough, okay?”

 

Diego scoffed loudly and crossed his arms over his chest. It was clear he wanted to keep fighting, but with more people seemingly joining Andy’s side, he didn’t press.

 

“Anyway,” Luther grumbled. He wasn’t happy with the conversation’s divergence. “The monocle-“

 

“No one gives a shit, Luther.” Diego snapped, almost hatefully.

 

“I know.” Luther ignored his brother’s outburst. “Like I said, it’s worthless. I’m thinking whoever took it wanted it. It was personal. Someone close to him took it, someone with a grudge.”

 

Klaus’s face twisted with drunken confusion. “Where are you going with this?”

 

“Oh,” Diego sighed softly. “Isn’t it obvious, Klaus? He thinks one of us did it.”

 

Luther opened his mouth to defend himself or possibly refute his brother’s statement, but nothing actually left his lips. It was in his silence that the others began to realize Diego’s paranoid statement may not have been as outlandish as they originally thought.

 

“Oh my god,” Klaus muttered in shock. “You do.”

 

“How can you think that?” Vanya asked.

 

Allison shook her head in shock and disgust while Andy laughed, openly and obnoxiously. She couldn’t help it. Luther was supposed to be the “brains” and he just told his siblings he blamed them.

 

“Great job leading.” Diego said, his voice dripping with thick derision.

 

“I didn’t mean-“

 

“You’re crazy.” Klaus said. “Crazy.”

 

“I-” Luther’s half-hearted words fell on deaf ears as his siblings stood and began to disperse. “I’m not finished.” He said.

 

“Yeah, well,” Klaus said sarcastically. “I’m going to go murder Mom, okay?”

 

Klaus followed Diego out, Vanya shortly after that. Still snickering and shaking her head to herself, Andy left as well. She assumed Allison left at some point, too.

 

* * *

 

 

Andy wandered the halls with a small bundle of grapes she’d stolen from the fridge. She ate them as she lazily strolled through the academy. Part of her wanted to throw them at the portraits on the walls, or put them in her mouth and launch them across the rooms, but she didn’t. It would’ve been petty and spiteful, and work for Grace or Pogo. Andy liked Grace and Pogo. They were good to her and treated her like a human being, not like an experiment or project.

 

Andy jogged upstairs and back to the main floor once again. Part of her wanted to see her old room. She wondered if it was even still there. Part of her thought that Klaus had destroyed it when she left. Maybe Vanya picked it clean? She didn’t know, but was curious. Luther didn’t care enough, and by then Diego and Allison had both moved out, and Ben was gone.

 

As she rounded the corner with every intention of climbing yet another flight of stairs, she heard something in the library again. It sounded like Klaus and he was talking to nobody. Not an entirely surprising thing, sure, but it made her curious enough to check.

 

When she made it to the archway, Andy saw Klaus berating an urn.

 

“You always were a stubborn old bastard!”

 

Her brows rose in shock at his angry declaration.

 

Klaus’s shoulders slumped and his head dipped as he let out a long sigh.

 

“Who else needs a drink?” He mumbled.

 

Andy watched as the young man in the skirt dragged his feet across the carpet and to the bar. He reached over it sloppily and knocked against the Old Man’s urn sending the lid flying off, and causing the internal bits to spread across the bar’s surface.

 

Her laugh was loud and instant. It was born out of shock and disbelief, but apparently it terrified Klaus. He spun, forcing his skirt to flutter in the air fancifully as he did.

 

With eyes wide and hands high in the air, he shouted, “I didn’t do it! It was like this when I got here!”

 

Andy’s lips curled back into a wide smile. It took him a moment, but eventually Klaus realized that she was the one who’d spotted him, and he calmed substantially.

 

“Oh, Jesus,” He sighed as he pressed his hand to his bare chest. “I thought you were someone else.”

 

“Nope,” She said as she entered the library and slowly made her way to him. “Just me.”

 

“Yeah,” He mumbled, sounding barely glad at the fact. It caused her brows to twitch together briefly. “Hey, can you do your-“

 

He waved his hand semi-mystically over the pile of spread ashes. Andy eyed him skeptically. She knew what he was asking, but the fact that he had was, well, stupid.

 

“No,” She replied as though it should’ve been obvious. “My thing’s water. That is, literally, a pile of ash.”

 

Klaus shrugged casually and turned his attention back to the mass. She could see him thinking about what to do before, finally, grabbing an empty glass. He began to sweep the ashes into it and dump them back into the urn, all the while grimacing and scowling as though he was dealing with the squishy bits of a body instead of the truth.

 

“That’s good enough.” He said when the majority of them were back in place.

 

He set the top on the urn once again, set it aside, and after taking a deep breath, blew the rest off the bar. They scattered and floated to the carpeted floor where they disappeared within the intricate design. Klaus moved behind the bar to make himself a drink. It appeared as though he’d learned his lesson and didn’t want to risk losing even more of the dwindling ash supply.

 

“You uh,” He said as he glanced periodically at Andy, “You can go, now.”

 

His glib behavior was bad enough, but then he actually waved his hand dismissively at her. Andy’s brows furrowed while a pit formed in her chest.

 

“Klaus,” Her voice was soft, and undeniably sad.

 

“What?” He snapped. Klaus planted his palms firmly against the bar’s surface and stared back at her coldly. “Klaus, what?”

 

She opened her mouth to speak, but a dozen things wanted to come out at once. As a result, she could only manage was the same, repeated apology she’d given more than once.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

He scoffed derisively and shook his head. Instead of replying to her comment, Klaus proceeded to scoop up the urn and very fancifully and sarcastically say, “Excuse me,” before he sauntered off.

 

Andorra’s heart physically ached. Klaus was all she had left and it was clear that, despite the time that passed, he still hated her. On some level she didn’t blame him. On the selfish other level, she felt as though he should’ve gotten over it by now. It’d been nearly ten years, after all.

 

* * *

 

 

**Seventeen Years Ago:**

 

Andorra couldn’t sleep. She’d been at the academy for less than a week and the sounds of the house still creeped her out. She was used to sleeping random places with equally random sounds, but it generally took a few days to acclimate. It was a byproduct of growing up without a home.

 

At the academy, there were creaks and groans, loud snaps and honking cars, and… whimpering. Confusion took her features as she sat up. Andorra’s room was in the back, furthest from the roads and with a window that overlooked the center garden. She wasn’t really close to anyone, but she still heard someone whimpering.

 

The thought of the house being haunted had crossed her mind more than once, but she got over that fear relatively quickly when Vanya explained that one of her brothers could talk to the dead. For some reason, that helped.

 

She slowly rose from her bed, planting her bare feet on the old and warped wooden floor. She kept her ears trained and, consumed with a strange level of bravery, she went in search of the sad and scared sound.

 

The floor creaked lightly under the weight of her narrow frame. It narrated her journey, but there was no one else around to hear it. Further and further she crept down the hall with the sounds growing louder and louder. She finally found the source. The whimpering was coming from someone’s room.

 

Her curiosity peeked as she pushed opened the cracked door. In the dim light of the room, she saw him lying in bed. He was wriggling beneath the blankets, shifting from side to side. She moved closer and saw the sweat forming on his forehead. It was obvious he was in the middle of a nightmare.

 

Her heart broke for him. He looked so scared and like he was in actual pain. She understood completely. There were only two nightmares she’d ever had, but they were perhaps the worst things she’d ever gone through in her young life, and she never wanted to go through anything like that ever again. As a result, she didn’t like seeing anyone else doing the same.

 

Andorra resolved to put an end to his torture. She approached his bed with sure, calm steps, and touched his arm. He was lying on his back, thrashing from side to side, but he didn’t seem to feel her.

 

“Hey,” She whispered. She wanted to use his name, but honestly, she didn’t know who he was. The numbers got jumbled in her head and even though Vanya had told her, Andorra hadn’t been there long enough to separate faces. She just knew Allison and Vanya. The guys all blended together. “Hey,”

 

Again, he didn’t respond. Andorra chewed on her bottom lip briefly as she thought about what to do. After a moment, she took a seat beside him and leaned over his body, planting a hand on each shoulder.

 

“Hey!” She said more forcefully than before, shaking him one good time.

 

His eyes shot open and he sprang up with a half-stifled scream. He looked truly terrified as his eyes darted frantically around the room.

 

“It’s okay,” Andorra said as reassuringly as she could.

 

His gaze met hers and she could tell that there was a second or two he didn’t know who she was. Her brows furrowed as she looked at him. He was still breathing too heavily. He was going to hyperventilate.

 

“Slow down.” She told him. He looked confused. “In,” She began to breathe through her nose and, to her relief, he did the same. “Out,” She breathed out through her mouth and he did the same.

 

The two of them breathed in tandem for a few minutes before it sounded like he was going to be alright.

 

“Are you okay?” She asked with genuine concern.

 

“Yeah,” he nodded sharply. “No, yeah, I’m fine.” She didn’t believe him.

 

“Okay, well, goodnight.”

 

Andorra stood and turned, ready to go back to bed, but felt something clamp down on her wrist. It was him.

 

“Uh,” He said hesitantly. “You uh,” She noticed the way his eyes darted around the room, kind of like a cat’s when they saw something. It freaked her out and made her do the same, but she didn’t see anything. It then donned on her that he might be the one who saw spirits. “You don’t have to go right now.” He finally looked back up at her and offered a crooked shrug. “I mean,” his voice shifted to something much more nonchalant. “You can stay if you want.”

 

She wasn’t entirely sure what to think. She didn’t know him. They might have shared a roof, but ever since she set foot inside, everyone except Vanya treated her like a leper, and she wasn’t allowed to talk to Vanya most of the time.

 

On the other hand, she could see how scared he was. It sparked some weird desire to protect him.

 

“Okay,” she nodded. Andorra slid back onto his bed and sat down while he moved his legs out of the way so she could. “I’ll stay for a little while.”

 

He smiled and looked genuinely relieved.

 

“So, uh,” He began. She watched as he leaned over to the bedside table and retrieved a tin box. From inside he pulled out what was obviously a joint, placed it between his lips, and lit it. “What’s your name again?”

 

She arched a curious brow as he drew in a lungful of smoke and held it for a few seconds before letting it loose. She was surprised that he so openly and freely smoked weed in his bedroom.

 

After he took a second hit, he offered it to her. Andorra shook her head. She’d never done drugs and didn’t much feel like she’d begin. He shrugged a shoulder.

 

“Well?”

 

“Andorra,” She told him.

 

With a new lungful of smoke, he grimaced and forced out, “I’m not calling you that.” His voice sounded off as he struggled to keep as much smoke in his lungs as he could. “How ‘bout Andy?”

 

“Okay,” She said with a casual shrug of her own. “Who are you?”

 

He exhaled loudly and longly before offering his hand. “Klaus, or Number Four.”

 

She shook his hand. “I’m not calling you Number Four.”

 

He grinned crookedly.

 

* * *

 

 

**Now:**

 

Klaus continued to drag his feet, now weighed down by his boots, as he entered the kitchen. He hated wearing shoes.

 

He felt heavy and drawn, a feeling he was used to, but now knew the reason behind. He wasn’t entirely prepared to see Andy again. With the rest of his family, he knew what to expect. He expected to be dismissed and ignored, things that hadn’t changed since they were teenagers. He planned to capitalize on it and then slink through the shadows to steal anything he could. And then Andy showed up.

 

The anger he felt towards her surprised even himself. He thought he would have been over it by now, but apparently not. Seeing her again just brought all of it to the foreground.

 

Klaus set the urn down on the kitchen table and reached into his pocket. He retrieved a small baggy of blue and white pills. With practiced ease, he dumped some into the palm of his hand and smiled.

 

“Three?” He scoffed, “Okay,”

 

Without reservation, Klaus tossed them back and bit down for a faster high. He couldn’t wait for them to take away everything he felt, from the irritation at being barked at by Luther to contact their dad, to the betrayal that consumed him whenever he saw Andy.

 

Where did she get off acting like everything was alright? She should’ve known better.


	3. Chapter 3

**Now:**

 

The music echoed through the many levels of the mansion. Ah, the eighties --a decade all of them missed out on.

 

Before the song could finish, the world beyond the academy went black. Electricity filled the air just a split second before blue flashed outside. It wasn’t lightning, but it was definitely something.

 

Andy didn’t know what compelled her, but she raced towards it. She doubted highly it was bravery –more a stupid level of curiosity.

 

When she broke through the doors that led to the garden, she found she wasn’t the only one to do so. Almost everyone was already outside. A split second later, Klaus came charging forward with a fire extinguisher. It did nothing, neither did him lobbing it at the mass of undulating blue.

 

Without warning, a person formed in the center of a tempest. He was silently screaming in pain as he struggled against an invisible force. And then, just as suddenly, the blue mass spit out a child and vanished. If it weren’t for the young man, it would have been as though nothing happened at all. Andy could do nothing but look out with wide eyes, blinking repeatedly as she struggled to come to terms with the level of weird she’d just witnessed.

 

Slowly and skeptically, the crowd approached the stranger. He pushed himself up and dusted off the malformed suit that hung off his body. When he looked up, Andy was struck with a twinge of familiarity, though she didn’t know why. She’d never met him before, but he looked so-

 

“Is anyone else seeing little Number Five,” Klaus asked unsurely, “Or is it just me?”

 

And then it hit her like a lightning strike. That was Number Five, the kid she “replaced” and the one whose portrait hung in the library.

 

“Shit,” Five hissed when he saw himself. He sighed angrily. “Is there any food?”

 

He gave no one a chance to speak before he trudged by them and into the house. Andy couldn’t speak for the others, but she was too stunned by the weirdness they’d just witnessed to do much more than follow after him.

 

Inside, while Five gathered supplies to make himself a sandwich, he was gawked at by his siblings. All of them clamored around the kitchen table and stared almost slack-jawed at him. Andy chose to sit back and lean against a cabinet. It felt like a family moment, and the others made it abundantly clear she was not family. That being said, she was so damn curious.

 

“What’s the date,” Five asked as he retrieved bread. “The _exact_ date?”

 

“The twenty-fourth.” Vanya replied.

 

“Of?” he asked shortly.

 

“March,”

 

Five nodded as he stood once more to the table. “Good. That’s good.”

 

“Are we going to talk about what just happened?’ Luther asked. Five didn’t reply and the flustered man stood. “It’s been seventeen years.”

 

Five squared himself on the giant without the slightest hint of fear. “It’s been a lot longer than that.”

 

Five suddenly jumped “through” Luther and grabbed a bag of marshmallows off the cabinet. Andy had never seen it before and it caused her brows to rise in shock. That was awesome.

 

“Haven’t missed that.” Luther grumbled.

 

“Where’d you go?” Diego asked.

 

“The future.” Five replied as he “jumped” back to his bread. “It’s shit, by the way.”

 

“Called it!” Klaus declared proudly.

 

With their continued prompting, Five was forced to tell them what happened, how he jumped to the future but couldn’t manage the return trip. Andy didn’t get involved. She was more than content enough to sit back and watch, even snickering when Five called Diego an idiot, and Luther had to hold him back.

 

“Glad to see nothing’s changed.” He said with a sigh. As Five stepped around the table with every intention of leaving, he spotted Andy. His brightly colored eyes darted over her. “Who are you?”

 

“Andorra.” She replied.

 

“Right,” He nodded. “My replacement.”

 

“Not really.” She replied a bit tersely. Andy had been called “New Number Five” more than enough in her life. She didn’t need to hear it from the man himself, too.

 

“Hm,” he nodded and bit into his sandwich again.

 

As he began to walk off, Allison spoke. “Is that it?”

 

“What else is there?” He called back. “Circle of life.”

 

A slow, but wide smile spread across Andy’s face. She liked Number Five. He was a little bit of an asshole, but honest. She could respect that.

 

“I like him.” Andy said.

 

“Who asked you?” Diego practically snarled.

 

Andy turned her attention to him. She scowled back at the angry young man before scoffing and shaking her head. She pushed herself away from the cabinet.

 

“You should do something about that.” She said as she headed for the door.

 

“About what?” Diego snapped at her.

 

“That stick up your ass.” She shot back without hesitation. Before she disappeared, she called back over her shoulder. “If you want to do this, you should do it soon. It’s going to rain.”

 

Diego’s angry mumbles followed her into the hall, but she said nothing about it. Andy didn’t like Diego. She borderline hated him, in fact, but she tolerated him because she understood why he was such a dick.

 

He wasn’t special.

 

It sounded strange to say given his abilities, but in her opinion, it was true. Diego Hargreeves wasn’t that special in a house full of special people, and he knew it. As a result, he spent his entire life trying to stand out and earn his father’s unattainable approval. Being the “second in command” didn’t help things, either. He clearly thought he’d never be quite good enough, so he’s loud and obnoxious.

 

He was a shrink’s wet-dream, and even though she knew it, Andy still didn’t like him.

 

* * *

 

 

The others didn’t listen to her.

 

Bitter, ice-cold rain fell from the sky in thick sheets as the family and Andy met in the courtyard. Everyone who’d ever lived in the house for more than a couple of years surrounded Luther in a half-circle. Black umbrellas surrounded Andy, and while Klaus stood out in spectacular fashion with a clear and pink children’s umbrella, Andy couldn’t help but think it’s was oddly stereotypical. Why were there always black umbrellas at a funeral? And why was it always raining? She didn’t bother with one herself. There was no need.

 

Andy reveled in the water. She lived in it and thrived. She needed it, really. One thing she was always aware of in her life was that she could become dehydrated –nearly to the point of hospitalization- within little more than a day because she was so reliant on the element. It was why she moved to the south where the humidity was so high until she found her current career path. She was a mermaid in a fancy show down in the Caribbean, tail and all.

 

Her water bill was ridiculous until she found a job where she was in water for eight to ten hours a day.

 

Luther tenderly spilled the ashes out onto the ground. At seeing the miniscule amount escape, Andy bit back a snicker while Klaus cringed. She thought it was funny, especially since the rest of the Old Man would be vacuumed up and thrown in the trash.

 

Pogo spoke on Hargreeves’ behalf. Andy thought it was sweet. She didn’t agree with him, but she could tell that Pogo was truly grateful to the Old Man for giving him the ability to speak and so much more. Diego, not so much. As he tended to, possibly to remind people just how little he cared, Diego spouted off, and to no one’s surprise, Luther leapt at their father’s defense.

 

The fight that broke out was surprisingly well-rounded. Andorra could almost respect the fact that Diego held his own against a man who was given blocks of steel and lead to bench-press as a child, but Luther was slow and lumbering. Diego was quick and light on his feet.

 

Luther, being the monolithic beast that he was, swung blindly at Diego. And missed.

 

His fist slammed into Ben’s statue, and for the first time since the fight began, Andorra felt a shock of fear. As the bronze mass sailed towards the ground, she reacted. Just before it would have crashed against the unforgiving concrete, it was caught, cradled in a shapeless mass of water. Andy, with her hand extended like some kind of ridiculous superhero, tenderly set it down and let the water disperse afterward.

 

She scowled at the two who, alongside the others, seemed a little surprised she’d somehow managed to save the statue. “Fucking children.” She hissed before turning her back and heading inside.

 

She was still shaking her head angrily as she entered the manor again. They were thirty years old, all of them, and those two were still acting like they were fifteen. Andy was genuinely disappointed that the supposed leaders of the family were so easily goaded into squabbles.

 

With an annoyed sigh, Andy sharply clapped her hands together. All of the rain water that had soaked into her clothes and hair shot away from her body in a poof and dissipated into the room an instant later –another nifty trick she’d learned.

 

“Andorra,”

 

Andy turned when she heard her name and noticed Pogo was the cause. She smiled. He continued to approach, meandering toward her slowly with the use of his cane.

 

“Will you be staying with us?”

 

“I have a hotel room.” She said.

 

“Nonsense,” He scoffed. “Your room’s been prepared. Please, you’re welcome to stay here.”

 

She smiled lightly. Pogo was a sweet individual. He was far more fatherly than Old Man ever was and his soft prompting was almost enough. She missed him, and his cool, calm accent. Hers had been fading through the years, but his reminded her of home. Perhaps it was another reason he was able to help convince her of things.

 

“I have a pet.” She felt the need to tell him.

 

She saw his brow rise slightly in surprise and expected it. Then a small smirk formed on his simian lips.

 

“I don’t believe animals in the house will be a problem.”

 

Andorra fought the urge to smile outright at his slightly sarcastic remark and found herself nodding.

 

“Alright,” She replied.

 

Pogo offered a nod and walked away, leaving Andy shaking her head to herself. She would only be in town for another two nights, anyway. Perhaps spending that time within the academy wouldn’t be as bad? Maybe it would give her a chance to finally smooth things over with Klaus? Now that Old Man was dead, she highly doubted that Klaus wouldn’t take full advantage and stick around to loot the manor.

 

* * *

 

 

The following morning, Andy headed for the kitchen with her grey tabby close in toe.  The aged cat was a little slow, but always nearby. She was all Andy had, really.

 

As she made it to the main floor, Andorra heard Klaus talking to himself… again. He was loud and agitated, to the point that it drew her attention. He was yelling at someone. When she made it to the archways that led to the library, she was surprised to see Klaus arguing (one-sidedly) with someone she couldn’t see, standing in perhaps the smallest pair of underwear she’d ever seen.

 

“I know,” He snapped at whoever. Then he scoffed and rolled his head a bit sarcastically, as though he’d heard something he didn’t want to hear. “ _Fine_ ,” He groaned like a child. “Christ, I hate dumpster diving.”

 

When Klaus turned, presumably to get dressed once more, he spotted Andorra, and instantly froze. Andy’s eyes danced around the room, but she –of course- saw nothing.

 

“Who are you talking to?” She asked as her gaze settled on the skinny, half-naked man again.

 

“No one,” He replied, waving his hand dismissively. Without warning, Klaus’s head snapped toward the empty chaise. “Why?” He asked, borderline angrily. “Oh, Jesus, I’m not high enough for this.” Klaus’s head fell back and he let out another childish groan before he said something she hadn’t expected. “It’s Ben.” He sounded defeated.

 

Andorra’s chest seized and a soft gasp left her. She felt as though she’d been punched in the gut. Hesitantly, as though she’d somehow see him too, Andy’s gaze drifted to the chaise Klaus had been talking to, but, as she knew it would be, it was empty. Still, for some reason, Andorra had hoped she see him.

 

Her mouth fell open as she tried to make herself speak. Andy missed Ben, a lot. He and Klaus were her closest friends growing up in the academy since she was kept (along with the others) primarily separated from Vanya. As a result, Ben was probably the closest thing she had to an actual brother, and she loved him. His death almost killed her.

 

As she struggled to think of something to say, her cat leapt up onto the chaise. She stared blankly at the same spot Klaus was speaking to.

 

“Oh,” Klaus chimed in surprise. “Who’s this?”

 

He bent down and tenderly pet the cat, drawing its attention away from the ghost.

 

“Cleo.” Andy said. Even she heard her voice crackle just a little. “That’s Cleo.”

 

“Hi, there.” Klaus said in a sweet, innocent voice. He chuckled as he pet the very receptive cat. Cleo loved attention and ate it up. Judging by the giddy way he was playing with her, Klaus liked cats, too, so they were a perfect couple.

 

Andy let him play with Cleo for a little while before she decided to intervene. “We’re uh,” She still felt the lump in her throat that bothered her. “We’re going to get something to eat. Come on, Cleo.”

 

To his surprise, the old tabby obliged, leaping down from the chaise and returning to Andy’s side. But Andorra hesitated to walk away at first. While she had the chance, she felt almost obligated to say something to Ben.

 

“Um,” Andy mumbled, “Miss you, Ben.”

 

And with that, she exited the library and headed for the kitchen with Cleo at her heel.

 

Klaus remained behind with his hands on his narrow hips, watching Andy and her little kitty disappear. His brows were pulled together at her curious behavior. He eventually glanced to Ben and noticed his saddened expression.

 

“You need to forgive her.” Ben said after a brief silence.

 

“What?”

 

Ben looked up at his brother, still bearing his sad look. “You need to forgive her.” Klaus instantly growled and rolled his eyes. “Klaus,” He snapped.

 

“What?” He shot back.

 

“It’s been ten years.” He said sternly. “You never even bothered to ask why she did it.”

 

“Cause it doesn’t matter. She doesn’t deserve the-“ Klaus quickly snapped his mouth shut. He ran his fingers angrily through his hair and messed it even further before calming himself down enough to speak without yelling. “I need to get dressed and find Dad’s stupid papers.”

 

And with that, he did his best to peel his leather pants back on, all the while he was forced to remember things he’d rather forget, but couldn’t with a sober mind.

 

**Ten Years Ago:**

 

Klaus sat in silence, slumped low in his stiff, uncomfortable chair with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes remained fixed out the barred window. Actually, they weren’t really bars. The windows to the institute were two panes of thick, thick glass that surrounded mesh. It made it, more or less, impossible to break through.

 

“Klaus,” The soft voice of Doctor Pryer barely roused him from his thoughts. He rolled his head sarcastically in her direction. The middle-aged woman was still staring at him remorsefully with her clipboard resting in her lap. “What are you thinking?” He didn’t reply. “I’d like you to tell me what brings you here.”

 

“The court system.” He replied with marked derision. She sighed disappointedly. It was a reaction he was used to getting from almost everyone.

 

“Klaus,” She said in a tone to match the sigh. “You suffered a severe trauma recently.” He scoffed and rolled his head back to the window so he could avoid the woman across from him. “You need to talk about the loss of your brother, Ben.” He didn’t reply, but she continued to press. “Is that what caused you to overdose on heroin?”

 

Klaus tightened his jaw, but again, remained silent. He was still angry he was forced to attend rehab. Apparently, shooting up then getting behind the wheel of a car, only to shortly after pass out and run into a bus stop was enough to be sent away for detox. He thought the cops overreacted a little. It wasn’t as though there was anyone at the bus stop, anyway.

 

He was fairly certain they took pity on him given the circumstances. Ben’s only been gone for a couple of weeks.

 

Doctor Pryer continued to push and pick and prod for the allotted hour before Klaus was allowed to leave. He breathed easier the moment he was out of the room and gladly walked down the disturbingly beige halls back to his room.

 

“You’re twitching.” Ben said.

 

Klaus shot him a sideways, angry glower. “I hate it here.” He grumbled.

 

“Yeah, well, what did you think would happen? You could’ve killed someone.” Ben said before reluctantly adding, “Or yourself.”

 

Klaus scoffed and shrugged a shoulder. He mocked his brother silently, mouthing words that didn’t actually leave him. Ben rolled his eyes in response.

 

“You don’t want to be dead, Klaus.” Ben said shortly. “Trust me.”

 

“Why not?” Klaus snapped. He spun on his heel to face the phantom that no one else could see. “I’d rather be a ghost than have to listen to them all the damn time.”

 

Ben glowered. Klaus could practically taste his brother’s disappointment and, given the recentness of his departure and how painful it still was, Klaus calmed. His shoulders slumped and his head fell.

 

“I just wanted to be numb.” He mumbled in a defeated voice. Klaus felt a lump form in his throat while his vision turned blurry. He knew he was on the verge of crying, but he couldn’t stop himself. “You’re my brother.” He finally looked up at Ben. “You and me,” his forced smile lasted seconds at best, dwindling no matter how much he tried to keep it on his lips. “That’s how it’s always been, bro, just you and me.” Klaus finally took a deep breath and hardened himself as best he could. “And you went and left me.”

 

Ben glared. Klaus knew he was blaming him and it wasn’t fair, but he couldn’t help it. He felt like Ben had willfully left him behind, that he’d moved on without him.

 

Klaus hadn’t OD’d with the intent of following his brother into the abyss. He’d only wanted to do whatever he could not to feel anymore. He just didn’t want to be consumed in the loneliness and betrayal he felt when Ben left him. From the time they were toddlers, it was just them. Granted, when Andy showed up, the Dynamic Dou turned into the Terrific Trio, but Klaus still had a very real issue with abandonment.

 

The only good thing, the only silver lining in the shit-colored cloud, was Klaus could still talk to his brother.

 

As he walked down the hall toward his communal bedroom, Klaus spotted Andy standing not far from the entrance to the lobby. He instantly felt better and smiled happily.

 

“Hey,” He said joyfully, drawing her eye. Andy turned and smiled softly the moment she saw him. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I wanted to see you.” She told him. “How are you feeling?”

 

Klaus, still grinning, finally reached her. He crossed his arms over his chest and with a loud, sarcastic sigh, he fell gracefully against the wall.

 

“Livin’ the dream.” He said sarcastically. “Hey,” his grin turned wicked. “What’s say you and me hit up a killer party when I get out, hm? To celebrate my rehabilitation.”

 

He noticed her scoff lightly and shake her head at his joke-not-joke, but even he could tell something was off with her.

 

“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

 

“Oh, come on,” He whined as he reached out to tug on her jacket. “It’ll be-“

 

Klaus’s words instantly caught in his throat when it happened. His eyes remained widened in shock as he stared at his hand, currently imbedded in Andy’s arm. There was no jacket to grab because there was no Andy.

 

His gaze drifted to hers. Andy’s brows were pulled together tightly. She looked like she was on the verge of tears, but both of them knew they’d never fall. A cold, painful pit formed in Klaus’s chest that refused to leave.

 

“I’m sorry.” Her voice shook when she spoke.

 

He knew, in that moment, what happened, but the words left him regardless.

 

“What did you do?” He asked softly.

 

Andy’s head fell. Klaus was on the verge of shaking, and it had nothing to do with the lingering withdraw.

 

Tenderly, Andy reached for the left cuff of her jacket. It was only then that Klaus noticed her fingers were red with trails of brilliant blood. The sinking feeling grew worse. He didn’t want to see what he knew was there. He didn’t want to know the truth, but she rolled up her sleeve regardless, showing him what was hidden.

 

Her arm was torn up. Long, thin slices cut sharply through her skin. Her umbrella tattoo was nearly etched out of existence in the process. It was clear, even to his addled brain, that she angrily targeted the inked mark before proceeding to run whatever blade she’s used up to her elbow. She didn’t half-ass her suicide.

 

Tears welled in his eyes as he met her stare once more. He couldn’t express how he felt knowing that he was staring at her ghost. He would never hug her again. He would never lie in bed beside her again. They’d never be able to paint each other’s toenails again, either. She was gone, just like Ben.

 

Klaus began to shake and took to leaning against the wall more for support than before. As he struggled to rationalize the moment he found himself in, Ben approached Andy. His brother gently taking her bloodied hand in his and tangibly holding it simply hammered home the fact that the only two people he actually cared about and who genuinely cared about him were gone. He was totally and completely alone.

 

“Why?” He almost choked on the words.

 

He didn’t understand suicide. Even as much as he hated himself and his life, Klaus never truly wanted to off himself. He wanted to be numb, sure, but not dead.

 

Her head fell once more. Andy buried her face in her hands and shook her head. “You don’t know what he made me do.” Her voice trembled. He could hear her crying even though she refused to look at him. “People shouldn’t be able to do what I can do. I’m a monster.”

 

When he blinked, Klaus felt the tears trickle down his cheeks, but refused to break completely. He remained as stoic as possible.

 

He opened his mouth to speak, but the words were never given the chance to emerge. Before he could question her again, Andy suddenly vanished.

 

Klaus remained where he was, in the middle of the hall, struggling to come to terms with the truth.

 

**Now:**

 

He stood in the middle of the library with one leg in his leather pants and nothing more in the way of clothing, staring blankly at the carpet. He remembered that no one called him to tell him if Andy was okay or not. It wasn't until he got home two weeks later that Vanya told him Andy had "attempted" suicide, but she pulled through. Unfortunately, no one knew where she'd gone. Andy had left in the middle of the night, snuck out and disappeared.

 

She did leave a note for him, though, one that told him she was sorry and that she'd get in contact when she had a place to stay. She told him that she wanted him to stay with her, to leave that house, and move in. He didn't. Klaus didn't even stick around long enough to receive another letter. He left within a week. Why did he have to stay? Ben was dead. Andy was gone. There was no one else in that house he wanted to be near, and they didn't want him there, either. So, he left.

 

The anger followed him, though. He was angry at Andy for killing herself, but what hurt the most was that she left. She abandoned him just like his mother did, just like his siblings did, just like his father did. No one wanted to be around Klaus. Everyone turned their back on him in the end.


	4. Chapter 4

Andy sat at the table. Cleo was stood atop it chewing on some shredded chicken that Andy had given her. She tenderly pet the cat while she ate. When she was done, Andy was going to have to give Cleo her medication and that was never an easy task. No matter how sweet a cat may be, giving a feline a pill was about as easy as trying to put a dress on a rampaging bull. “Best” part was, Cleo had to take medication twice a day with a total of four pills. It’d been the norm for almost a year, and yet, each time it was a chore. To make things even more complicated, she’d grown incredibly aware of the fact and knew to hide when she heard pill bottles.

 

If she could avoid it, she would, but Andy had no choice. She would have been more than happy to save both she and Cleo the hassle, but just shy of a year ago the vet found a brain tumor. Andy had a scare and took her cat to the vet. After multiple x-rays, the doctor found a tumor, in-operable, but he said it could be managed with pills. Fine, fine. That simply meant Andy would spoil her even more than she already did, until the “time-bomb” inevitably went off.

 

Every time she thought about it, her throat began to itch. It was the precursor to crying, and she knew it. Andy pushed the feeling down, crossed her arms on the table, and rested her head on them. 

 

It didn’t matter. The thought was always there and always crept back into her mind no matter what.

 

Andy picked up a piece of shredded chicken and held it out while she continued to lay on her crossed arms. Cleo spotted it and began to nom happily on the poultry. As she laid there, Andy spotted movement and glanced up. Vanya paused in the doorway to the kitchen. Her brows rose. She seemed surprised to not only see Andy, but to see a cat on the table.

 

“Hey,” She greeted.

 

“Hi,” Andy’s voice was muffled by her arm.

 

“Who’s this?” Vanya approached the table and took a seat across from Andy. Cleo stepped forward and sniffed her. She let Vanya touch her and pet her for a minute before she returned to her snack.

 

“Cleo.”

 

Vanya smiled softly, but the smile faded rather quickly. When it had, she shifted uncomfortably. It wasn’t entirely out of character.

 

“Can I ask you something?” Vanya asked after a moment of silence. Andy nodded. “Are you angry that I wrote the book?”

 

Andy took a deep breath as she sat up, and thought honestly about Vanya’s question. Like most everyone, she’d read it when the book was released and was genuinely surprised by a lot of what she saw. The first three or four chapters took place before she’d even arrived, but Andy was in the following twelve.

 

“No,” Andy finally said. “I mean, it wasn’t very flattering, but,” she shrugged a single shoulder. “It wasn’t as though it was all a lie.”

 

“So,” she picked lazily at the uneven surface of the raw-wood table. As before, she refused to meet Andy’s gaze. “You’re not mad about the stuff I said about you?”

 

Andy thought back to a few choice paragraphs that stuck out to her.

 

_“No one ever talks about the smell of blood. They always reference the brilliant color of it, or how it seems impossible to clean. They even talk about the sheer volume of it, but no one talks about the smell._

_“When there’s enough of it, it smells like wet pennies._

_“I remember finding Andy sitting on the floor of the bathroom she shared with Klaus now that Ben was gone. He’d died just a couple of weeks prior. The pain of it was still so new that I don’t think I registered what I was seeing. She was leaning against the bathtub. Her legs were splayed out, her head had slumped to the point her chin touched her chest, and she was surrounded by red. A pool of blood larger than anything I’d thought possible had spread from the wounds in her left arm._

_“I think I screamed, which brought Pogo and Mom. They acted quickly and somehow managed to save Andy. Mom sewed her arm shut –four small slices across her tattoo and one that reached from wrist to elbow- and placed her in her water tank. Water was the only thing that helped her heal, so she stayed locked inside it for nearly a week._

_“Andy moved out shortly after and aside from the sporadic birthday card, I haven’t spoken to her since the incident, but I can still smell the pennies._

_“I’ll always smell the pennies.”_

 

In truth, it annoyed Andy a bit that Vanya included her suicide, and that she poetically twisted it to be about her, but at the same time, it was understandable. The book was hers, after all, and (until she’d read it) Andy had no idea that Vanya had been the one to find her. It’s inclusion into her biography made sense.

 

“No,” She eventually replied. “Honestly, nothing you said was really that bad. It might have been personal, and sure, a lot of it I’d rather not have hundreds of thousands of people know, but it happened. It’s how you felt.”

 

“Well, yeah, but the others-“

 

Andy sighed obnoxiously, to the point Vanya was forced to stop speaking. She stared at Andorra with wide eyes, seemingly worried about what she’d said.

 

“The only ones angry about your book, still, years later, are the ones who weren’t painted in the best light.” Andy told her. “You shouldn’t care what they think.”

 

“But they’re my family.”

 

“Pft,” Andorra scoffed derisively. “Look, you have nothing to worry about, alright? It was how you felt.”

 

Vanya nodded unsurely.

 

The two spoke for a little while longer before Vanya left. Shortly after, Cleo finished her dinner and together, she and Andy headed upstairs.

 

As she made her way up the main staircase, she passed Five and Klaus. Klaus was dressed in one of the Old Man’s grey pinstripe suits. Five didn’t bother with a second glance, which she expected, but her eyes managed to lock with Klaus’s, albeit briefly.

 

It lasted seconds, but it was the longest he’d looked at her since she arrived.

 

Even though he tore his gaze from hers as he and Five left the house, Andy continued to watch him. She felt unimaginably awkward around Klaus now. Part of her wanted to grab him, force him to look her in the eye and make him forgive her. Another part thought giving him space was the best option. Unfortunately, giving him space broke her heart more than she even thought was possible.

 

**Thirteen Years Ago:**

 

Andy was asleep in her bed. The house was primarily silent save the sounds on the street and the constant creak of the old house. The unfamiliarity of them used to keep her awake. Four years after arriving, and they helped lull her to sleep. A sharp rustle of her bed, however, would always wake her.

 

Groggy and instantly angry, Andy opened her bleary eyes to see a thin, long-limbed figure crawling awkwardly over her body and to the portion of her bed that was closest the wall.

 

“The fu-“ She mumbled.

 

“Don’t mind me.” Klaus’ familiar and unmistakable voice met her ears. “Just getting comfy.”

 

Andy groaned and scowled as she smashed her face back into her pillow. Meanwhile, behind her, Klaus was struggling to pull her comforter out from under his body so he could crawl beneath it. The bed, still made from stiff springs, jerked and rocked back and forth with the slightest of motions. Under Klaus’ movements, it shook like it was experiencing an earthquake.

 

“My God, Klaus,” She groaned. “Would you just stop moving?”

 

“Almost got it.” He replied.

 

A moment later, the intense shaking finally ended and she felt him press against her back. He slid his hand over her waist. She threaded her fingers through his and held it tenderly in place.

 

“You haven’t any shoes on, do you?”

 

He didn’t reply. Instead, she felt him kicking beneath the blanket behind her. Shortly after, she heard the clomp of two shoes landing on the wood floor.

 

“Nope,” He replied.

 

Years ago, within her first week at the academy, Andy had gone to Klaus’s side when he had a nightmare. She fell asleep in his bed that night, staying with him for so long that she and him passed out together. Since then, whenever he woke from a nightmare, Klaus would crawl into Andy’s bed for the rest of the night. He said he slept better with her, that she kept all the “spooks” away. Andy didn’t mind. She kind of liked it.

 

As a result, it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Sometimes, he’d crawl into her bed just because he could, and tonight seemed to be one such night.

 

“Oh my God,” He muttered as he squeezed himself as close to her as possible. Andy felt every inch of him pressed to her, from his chin on her shoulder, to his legs tangled with hers. “You’re so warm.”

 

“And you’re freezing.” She replied in the same soft tone. “Where’ve you been?”

 

“A rave.” He chuckled a little. “It was a-maze-ing.”

 

“So, you’re high?”

 

He giggled that oddly psychotic giggle she’d heard a thousand times before. “Oh, yeah.” He said. “Come here,”

 

Andy fell easily to his guidance as he rolled her toward him and onto her back. Like a child clinging to their mother, Klaus rested his head on her chest and curled to her side. He’d done so before more times than she could count, so with little adjusting, they were comfortable again.

 

Klaus slid his free hand beneath the hem of Andy’s shirt and rested in on her stomach. She flinched at his icy touch, but didn’t stop him.

 

“Your skin is so soft.” He said as he nuzzled into her neck, just below her chin. “You must moisturize.”

 

Klaus giggled again like a little kid. Andy couldn’t help but smile at his stupid joke, too. She spent hours a day submerged in water. “Moisturize” wasn’t a big enough word for it.

 

She heard and felt him take a long, deep breath as he relaxed against her. Andy rested her cheek on the top of his head and held him close. It was familiar, comfortable, and she liked it. At some point, Klaus had begun to trace his blunt fingernails across her stomach in small, little circles. Andy wasn’t even certain he was aware of the fact, but she liked the way it felt, and had no intentions of telling him to stop.

 

Minutes passed and Andy had just about fallen asleep again. She was straddling the line, more than willing to tumble into oblivion, but Klaus moved once more, jostling her back into the moment. He pressed his face fully into the slope of her neck, from his nose to chin. Her eyes were still closed, but she couldn’t help but grimace.

 

“What are you doing?” She grumbled.

 

“You smell good, too.” He mumbled against her skin. His breath was so hot it gave her goose bumps and made her shudder.

 

“What are you on?” More than once, he’d said something about her was “good”, from her scent to the way her skin felt. He had to been on something strong.

 

Klaus giggled. “Ecstasy.”

 

Andorra let out a groan-laced sigh. Of course he was. He was always so touchy-feely when he was on X. It made her doubt she’d get a full night’s sleep because he'd be too busy "experiencing" everything.

 

Klaus remained close to her with his face buried in her neck, breathing deep as he did. It bugged her to the point that she drew back. Andy put space between them and rolled her head towards him, facing Klaus. She hoped the new position would keep him from burrowing into her neck again.

 

“Go to sleep.” She mumbled.

 

He adjusted again, inching closer until his forehead rested against hers. For a moment, it seemed like he was going to go to bed, until she felt his lips form around hers. Still half asleep, she complied for only the briefest of moments, kissing him back until she realized just _who_ it was she'd kissed.

 

Andy shot back. Her eyes were wide in shock as to what he’d just done. Klaus had kissed her. There was no way around it, he’d kissed her, and yet he seemed either completely at ease, or unaware of what he’d done. As she stared at him, Klaus's eyes remained closed while bore a smile and wiggled into her pillow.

 

“Did you just kiss me?” She already knew the answer, but the question left her regardless.

 

“M-hm,” Klaus mumbled before he yawned a bit obnoxiously. He seemed to finally be falling asleep. “Had to see if you tasted good, too.”

 

Andy continued to stare at him unsurely for what felt like an eternity before she too relaxed. Klaus had drifted off, but stayed close with his hand still resting on her stomach. Andy curled to his side as best she could and fell asleep, doing everything in her power to forget what he’d done.

 

**Now:**

 

Andorra laid in her bed staring at the ceiling with Cleo lying on her chest. She never forgot about the kiss even though she was fairly certain Klaus had the moment he fell asleep. That stupid little kiss changed everything.

 

It was in that stupid little nothing moment that Andy realized she cared about Klaus more than she should. She’d never seen him as a brother, but hadn't thought anything of it. She didn’t feel that way about anyone, except Ben. Andy only knew she had strong feelings for him, but she wasn’t entirely certain what they were, until he kissed her. That shined a bright, unwanted light on the truth.

 

Leaving the academy didn’t bother her. It was leaving Klaus without being able to say goodbye in person that broke her heart and the subsequent hatred that she could see in his eyes every time he looked at her pulverized the rest.

 

What were you supposed to do when you were in love with someone who never saw you as more than a friend? What were you supposed to do when that person hated you because you abandoned them?

 

Andy pushed the thoughts away. It didn’t matter. It never mattered. She’d be gone soon, anyway. The day after tomorrow, she’d fly home and pretend like she hadn’t made the trip down memory lane.

 

* * *

 

 

The following morning when Andy woke, she was a little surprised to find that Cleo wasn’t lying in bed with her. There was hardly a time through the years when the cat wasn’t somewhere on the bed, if not laying right on top of Andy while she slept. With a furrowed brow, she looked around the room until she spotted her kitty curled up on the floor, sleeping in a swatch of daylight that had come through the window.

 

Andy rose and called for Cleo to follow her, but Cleo didn’t move. A sinking feeling gathered in Andy’s gut. She called Cleo again, and again she remained still.

 

The tears that gathered in Andy’s eyes were instant. There was no lead up to it. One moment her vision was clear, and the next she couldn’t see. Her body was on autopilot as she approached. Ever since the diagnosis, Andy had a few scares, so she prayed this was the same, but when she knelt down and touched her, Andy knew otherwise. There was no heartbeat. Cleo wasn’t breathing. Instead, she’d gone painfully still.

 

Andorra immediately began to cry.

 

* * *

 

 

Andorra was a bit lost. She’d cried her first wave of tears and from there was in a haze as she decided to bury her long-time friend in the garden. Since pushing the earth back over the wrapped bundle, she’d simply gone numb.

 

Time passed before Andy finally stood. She didn’t want to be at the academy anymore. She wanted to go home. Returning was a bad idea, anyway. What was the point? No one wanted her there. They’d all been fairly vocal about it, in fact, and now she’d lost the only thing she had left that she cared about, and who cared about her.

 

The academy was a black hole. It took everything.

 

As she stood over the small plot, Andy stared at the collar in her hand. It was simple, nothing more than a pink band with a fish-shaped name tag, and a little bell. It was all she had, now. Andy wrapped it around her left wrist and affixed it into place, an easy task given it was actually quite small.

 

With a new bracelet and nothing else left to do or give, Andy returned to the manor. The moment she walked through the doors and into the library. There was no denying she’d stepped into the middle of something important. The room was filled with the Hargreeves children, all of them surrounding one another, and deep in conversation (or argument) which stopped the second she appeared. They hadn’t been there when she went outside, so it briefly made her wonder just how long she’d been outside in the first place.

 

Everyone was silent. She could tell by the way they stared at her that they hadn’t expected her, either.

 

“The hell are you doing here?”

 

Diego’s sharp words caused her gaze to shoot to him. A flash of anger swept through her in an instant, but, somehow, Andy did her best to push it down.

 

“I was just leaving.” She replied in a voice that was undeniably thick with emotion.

 

“Good,” He said snidely as she headed for the foyer. “You don’t belong here anyway.”

 

And that, for some reason, seemed to be all she could withstand. Andy didn’t know if it was because of her current emotional state, or if she’d simply had enough of Diego’s taunts, but whatever the cause, she was instantly furious. Andorra spun on her heel and squared herself on him.

 

“What’s your issue, hm?” She asked with a tight edge. “What have I _ever_ done to you?”

 

Diego didn’t back down and instead seemed glad to finally have the chance to tell Andy exactly why he didn’t like her.

 

“You just showed up one day, and immediately pushed yourself into this family, trying to take Five’s place.” He said with a cold, tight voice. He approached her with stilted steps, but remained a few feet away, as though he couldn’t stand to be much closer than that. Diego pointed a finger at her. “You will _never_ be my sister, you hear me? The Old Man might’ve given you the Hargreeves name, but you’re not one of us. You never will be.”

 

“I never wanted to be a part of your family!” She yelled angrily. It was a statement she’d been repeating for the better part of her life and one Diego, and likely a few others, never seemed to remember. “I didn’t want to be anyone’s sister.” Her voice began to quiver and tears she’d thought she already spilled gathered in her eyes. “I wanted friends. I just wanted to be around people like me, but the _second_ I got here, you people treated me like a leper. Vanya was the _only_ one who bothered to learn my name the first day and I wasn’t even allowed to talk to her because of your freak father’s rules. I was stuck with  _you_ people. Jesus, the three of you,” She motioned at Diego, Luther, and Allison, the latter two seeming a little surprised by their inclusion, “Are horrible . You’re so self-involved and you had it by far the easiest.”

 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Allison said angrily, finally contributing to the conversation.

 

“No?” Andy was on a tangent and far beyond caring. It seemed as though she was finally given the chance to unload everything that had bothered her for years. “What’d you have to do, hm? Did you have to jump through space until your body gave out and you couldn’t move anymore? Maybe you had to keep the portal under your skin open longer and longer to see what kind of horrible creatures were living there? Or know what, I bet you were locked into a mausoleum for days with a dozen angry ghosts constantly screaming at you. Actually, I bet you were forced to kill-“ Andy instantly slammed her mouth shut. Her head dropped as she silenced herself. She took in one long breath after another to steady herself before she looked up at Diego again. “I might not have been here since the beginning, but you don’t have the monopoly on shit childhoods.”

 

She could see the rage she brought out in him, the anger and how many buttons she’d pushed during her rant. Apparently, he didn’t like her downplaying the things he’d gone through, but as far as she was concerned, it was all true.

 

“Nobody ever wanted you here.” Diego growled hatefully. “You’re just some orphan that Sir Reginald picked up off the-“

 

And she snapped.

 

Before he could finish his bitter rant, Andy thrust her open palm in his direction. Diego was suddenly thrown back, sailing through the air and landing against one of the many columns, hard. He let out a loud grunt of pain when he hit and slid to the floor. The room was stunned into silence. Somehow, from more than ten feet away, Andorra had managed to fling Diego as though he were nothing.

 

Each of the siblings turned gawking expressions to the young woman who was still vibrating with rage. She was visibly shaking. Stuck in some kind of trance, it wasn’t until Diego somehow pushed himself to his feet again that Andy seemed to remember there was a world around her. When she looked up and saw their collective horror, she realized what she’d done.

 

The anger and rage fled her features in an instant, replaced with shame and fear. She looked at her trembling hands and back at Diego as though events were only just beginning to connect. Glassy eyes danced around the Hargreeves children, and when she blinked, a single tear rolled down each cheek.

 

Before anyone could speak, Andy raced from the room. She all but ran downstairs and out of everyone’s line of sight.

 

“The hell just happened?” Diego grumbled. He cradled his chest as he approached the others. Despite his cold exterior, he couldn’t hide the fear lingering in his eyes.

 

“Andy just Force-Punched you across the room.” Klaus mumbled in shock. His fuzzy brain still had trouble accepting what he’d clearly seen.

 

“I thought her thing was water?” Luther asked the room.

 

Five’s face twisted as he looked at his brother. “You’re kidding, right?” Luther shrugged and shook his head which caused Five to openly sigh and roll his eyes. “What do you think the human body is made out of?”


	5. Chapter 5

Klaus’s stomach churned when the elevator came to an abrupt halt. His eyes drifted shut and he fought a groan as he did his best to keep from vomiting all over the lift’s floor. When it settled, he exited with Ben at his side.

 

He was incredibly uncomfortable in the depths of the manor. The walls were all constructed of dull grey concrete with industrial-styled lighting. It looked like every sinister bunker in every horror movie, ever. And it always sent an uncomfortable chill down his spine, but he pressed on.

 

At the end of the long hall was a large round room, innocuous and simple, but it was what was within the room that held his attention. A water tank with almost comical dimensions rested in the center of the room. The round structure had a circumference of nearly fifteen feet. Klaus didn’t even know how many hundreds of gallons it held.

 

The closer he drew, the clearer she became. Through the inches-thick pane of glass that separated the interior of the tank from the outside world, Klaus could see Andy. She was sat at the bottom of the tank with her knees drawn to her chest and her face buried within them. Her long, dark hair swayed softly around her head, her shirt fluttered, and if it weren’t for the dull hum of the tank’s filtration in the background, it would have been a haunting thing to see.

 

It did still cause him to pause, however. No matter how many times Klaus had seen her in her water tank, he was never entirely prepared for it at first. When they were younger and she would spend days in the water, it wasn’t uncommon for her to be tied to a hook at the bottom. The rope would be looped around her ankles to keep her in place. Seeing her suspended that way, with her hair fluttering along with her clothing always made her look a little too ethereal and ghostly. It unnerved him back then.

 

Klaus’s thick brows tugged together as he looked in at her.

 

When he reached the tank, Klaus raised his hand to knock, but he hesitated. For the briefest of moments, he didn’t want to disturb her. But he knocked, eventually, anyway.

 

Andy started. Her head shot up at the sound of the dull thud. For a moment, she was clearly frightened by the sudden sound, until she spotted the cause. Klaus set his open hand on the glass.

 

“You okay?” He asked. He knew she could hear him, she just couldn’t speak. While she –somehow- managed the ability of breathing under water, it didn’t exactly translate to conversation.

 

She didn’t reply and instead rested her cheek on her knee, looking away from him again when she did.

 

“Come on,” He let the words trail in an almost whining way. “At least surface or something.”

 

For a moment, Andy didn’t move. She seemed to think over his request and when she finally reacted, it wasn’t how he suspected. Instead of resurfacing, Andorra stood and simply walked to the distant wall to sit once more. There it was again, another unsettling demonstration of her ability. She should have floated and flailed like a normal person, but no. Why would she? She had control over her element.

 

Klaus grumbled to himself. He stepped away from the tank’s window and moved to the right. He jogged effortlessly up the steps that led to the completely open top. With a quick flick, he turned on the lights. They sprang to life, their fluorescent glow sputtering and illuminating the interior of the tank completely. Klaus was able to see her clearly from the surface, despite the one light that refused to turn on.

 

She looked up at him with slight annoyance, but it had the desired effect. Andy soon rose to the surface.

 

“Hey,” He said with a crooked smile. “Have a nice swim?”

 

“What do you want?” she asked almost meekly. Klaus could tell she was still a little rattled and embarrassed about what happened upstairs.

 

Klaus sat, crossing his legs and leaning forward to prop his elbows on his knees. He interlocked his fingers and lazily rested his chin on them. As he thought about how to proceed with the conversation, he noticed something tied to her wrist. For the first time since she’d arrived in the house, Andy wasn’t wearing a long sleeved shirt or jacket. As a result, he was more than able to see the obvious cat collar fastened to it.

 

“Oh,” He chimed in an almost excited voice, relieved to have something to Segway into. “Where’s the kitty?”

 

Andorra’s face twisted and her head dropped. She pressed her forehead against the edge of the tank. Klaus felt a cold lump form in his gut.

 

For a moment or two, she seemed to do her best to compose herself before she lifted her head again. Andy cleared her throat and did her best to appear in control, but Klaus knew her too well. He could see something was clearly wrong.

 

“She died.” She mumbled under her breath. That horrible feeling in his gut grew even worse than before, to the point he grimaced.

 

“Sorry,” His voice was so quiet that if she weren’t so close, she probably wouldn’t have heard him.

 

Andy shook her head. “It’s fine,” He knew it was a lie. “She’s been sick for a while, but… Jesus, I just didn’t want her to die in this house.” He heard her voice hitch, but she pressed on. “I did everything I could to keep her out of this house, and she died here, anyway.”

 

Klaus’s brows pulled together. “What?” He honestly didn’t understand what she meant. It was such a random comment that he wasn’t sure how to process it.

 

Andy swallowed the lump in her throat. She ran her hand over her face to wipe away a bit of water, and seemed to fight with the desire to rehash whatever was coursing through her mind.

 

“She’s why I left.”

 

A sudden wash of emotions flooded him at such a simple phrase. Jealousy, anger, and that familiar betrayal all swirled within Klaus when Andy admitted something she’d never told him before.

 

“Ex-squeeze-me?” Klaus somehow managed to say.

 

Andy ran her bottom lip between her teeth as she, again, struggled to speak whatever was on her mind.

 

Instead of remaining in the tank to explain, Andy pulled herself effortlessly out and took a seat on the platform beside Klaus. She let her feet dangle in the water and chose to stare out at the room without glancing to the man at her side.

 

“I was supposed to kill her.” Andy finally said.

 

Klaus was temporarily struck silent. Andorra was a kind person, and even though he knew his dad could be terrible, he couldn’t believe that he’d ask her to openly kill an animal. Thankfully, or not, before he could ask her to explain, she did.

 

“He had me start on plants.” She said. “Water’s in everything: the air, people, plants… animals. The Old Man had me try to make houseplants move, and bend, and all kinds of stuff. When I could, he started having me draw the water out, to take every single drop from the plant, to kill it, basically.” Her brows furrowed lightly and her head dipped slightly. “After plants, he made me work on cadavers, on trying to make dead animals move again. It went like that for a few months. And then he made me practice on living creatures.” Klaus grimaced again. “I had to control bugs, then mice, then guinea pigs… rabbits…” He saw a pained expression take her face. “I tortured those poor animals.” Tears began to trickle down her cheeks. “And he’d push and push and push. He told me we’d keep going until I could control people, too. I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

 

Klaus noticed she’d begun to caress her arm. He doubted she was even aware she was doing it, but it brought back a painful memory. As her hand glided up and down the length of the massive pink scars that littered her left arm, he remembered when she appeared to him in rehab. Whatever she had to do to those animals was what drove her to take her own life. If Vanya hadn’t found her, it would have been permanent.

 

Andy took a deep breath and let her head fall back. She stared at the ceiling and tried to keep the tears in, but Klaus saw them regardless.

 

“When I woke up in my tank,” She continued with the story, completely neglecting her suicide. “He told me we would start again. About a week later when he let me out, he took me to the training room. There was a box on the table and inside was Cleo. She couldn’t have been eight weeks old, just a tiny little thing. I couldn’t do it.” Andy finally looked at Klaus and he saw how broken she was. “I couldn’t hurt that little kitten. I’d already done so many horrible things, I just couldn’t. So I took her, and I ran. I packed up everything and left.” Even though she’d been weeping throughout the conversation, Andorra finally let the floodgates open and began to genuinely cry, if not outright bawl. “I’m sorry I left you here, but I had to leave.”

 

Klaus was consumed with the urge to console her, and did. He reached over and pulled Andy into a hug. She clung to him and continued to cry. He finally had his answers, and honestly didn’t feel better for it. Before he knew the reason as to why she left, he was content to be angry thinking she just walked away. It hurt that she disappeared while he was in rehab and less than a month after Ben died, but knowing the reason behind it made him understand. He didn’t want to understand. He wanted to be mad because understanding made him realize how petty he’d been over the last decade.

 

The pair remained that way for a while, until Andy was simply resting her head on his shoulder, and Klaus was resting his head on hers. They even held one another’s hands, and for those few minutes, it felt like it used to. Klaus was glad for it. It’d been a long time since he was able to just sit with someone he didn’t have to do anything with. Even in front of his own siblings, Klaus felt an overwhelming need to be on stage, to talk, to act, to do _something_ , but not with Andy. Not with Ben, either. He was just allowed to be.

 

They stayed that way for a while until Andy drew back. She looked up at him with those big, sad eyes that broke his heart. Klaus loved her. She was his best friend when they were growing up and he felt guilty as hell that he hadn’t let her explain anything about why she’d left. He just let his hurt pride take over.

 

“I’m leaving tomorrow.” She told him.

 

Klaus felt a stab in his chest. He pulled a little further away from her than before, as though the added space would help at all.

 

“Sure,” He nodded unsurely.

 

“Wanna grab some food or something before I do?”

 

He forced a smile and a tone that made him sound much more carefree than he felt. “You know me. Always love some free food.” She smiled heavily at him. “Just, uh,” Klaus hesitated. There was one thing he wanted to say, to make sure they settled on beforehand. “Just don’t leave without saying goodbye, okay?”

 

“Never again.” She said with a small nod.

 

Klaus left her shortly after. He asked if she wanted to join him, but she politely refused. He wasn’t entirely surprised she wanted to spend more time in the tank. Surrounded by water was the only way she felt safe and comfortable.

 

* * *

 

The following morning, Andy emerged from the second floor in shock as to what she saw. There were bullet holes in the walls, chunks taken from the doorframes, and the chandelier in the entryway foyer was on the ground with broken glass littering the space. The night before, Andy had been so tired she didn’t notice anything, despite the fact she walked right by it all.

 

“Where the hell were you?”

 

Andy spun and looked up to see Diego staring angrily down at her from the second floor landing.

 

“What happened?”

 

“We were attacked.” He said as he began to jog down to the first level. “Where the hell were you?”

 

“In my tank. Is everyone okay?”

 

He scoffed and shook his head when he finally made it to her. Andy arched an angry brow. She knew what he meant by the derisive sound. She’d grown accustomed to hearing it from him.

 

“This house is shot up by psychos, and you’re taking a dip. Seriously?”

 

“Oh, no.” She openly glowered at him. “I don’t think so. You see,” She turned to give him her full attention. “You don’t get to stand there and chastise me for not helping when you’ve spent the last, almost twenty years, _happily_ telling me I don’t belong, that you’re better off without me, and you don’t need me here. Can’t push me away, then expect me to help, too.” Andy headed for the stairs and made her way toward the kitchen to eat. “That’s not how this shit works.”

 

As she jogged down the aged steps with familiar ease, Andy knew she was full of shit. If she’d been aware of what was happening last night, she would have fought. She would have done anything she had to to protect the few people she cared about within the house. It was simply how she was.

 

But, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t turn around and snap at Diego when he attempted to guilt her.

 

 

After breakfast, Andy have every intention of going around the house and saying farewell to the people she liked, and the ones she hadn’t been able to say goodbye to when she left the first time. She felt like she owed Pogo, Grace, Klaus and Vanya.

 

The trouble was, she had no idea what had happened the night before, and that half of her list was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Pogo brought Andy to Grace, to show her what had happened the previous night. Andy wasn’t prepared for it. She felt a very real pang in her chest at the sight of Grace’s eyes remaining focus-less, and her arms hanging limply from her side. Andy felt a prickle in the back of her throat.

 

“She was always so kind to me.” Andorra said. “I mean, I know she was programmed to be that way, but it was nice. Both of you were.”

 

Pogo offered a small smile and a thankful nod. Andy took a deep breath and cleared her throat. She gave Pogo her full attention and forced herself to smile as happily as she could, all things considered.

 

“It was good seeing you again, Pogo.” She told him.

 

“Are you certain there’s nothing I can do to convince you to stay?”

 

“No, sorry.” She shook her head. “I think I’ve had enough ‘family time’ to last me a while.”

 

“Of course,” He offered her a nod.

 

“You don’t happen to know where Klaus is, do you?”

 

“No, I’m afraid not. Master Klaus has a tendency of disappearing.”

 

“Right,” She nodded. “Well,”

 

Andy offered Pogo a hug, which he reciprocated. She cared deeply for Pogo, and hugged him tightly to show it. He’d been far more of a father than the Old Man ever was, and if it weren’t for him, she’d have likely died on the streets when she was a child.

 

When the two parted, Andy asked if Vanya still lived in her old apartment. Pogo said she did, and with that, Andy left. Her things awaited her return near the door. She wanted to be able to make a quick escape when it came time to leave. Part of her was genuinely worried that if she had to stay long enough to pack, she might not catch her flight.

 

Something would undoubtedly pull her back.

 

* * *

 

 

Andy made her way to Vanya’s apartment, but paused half-way down the hall when she spotted Allison locking the door. After securing it and slipping the keys into her purse, Allison turned and froze in her spot when she noticed Andy, too.

 

“Andorra,” She said, her voice mimicking her shock. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I came to speak to Vanya.” She replied. “I take it she isn’t home.”

 

“Uh, no. She’s at rehearsals.”

 

“Hm,” Andy mumbled. She shifted uncomfortably on her feet, a sentiment she knew Allison shared. They were rarely –if ever- alone. Andy glanced at her watch. She had about five hours until she needed to be at the airport. “Do you know when she’ll be home? I’d like to tell her goodbye before I leave.”

 

“No, I don’t. Sorry.”

 

“Okay, then.”

 

And with that, Andy turned. She’d nearly made it to the stairwell before she paused. There was a nagging feeling that she couldn’t shake, one that she hated she felt at all. Perhaps some part of her just felt like she had to apologize because she, genuinely, never intended to speak to Allison again.

 

Turning, she noticed the actress had closed roughly half the distance between them before being seen and paused.

 

“I want to apologize.” Andy said.

 

Allison’s brows tugged together slightly. “For what?”

 

“For my outburst yesterday. There were a lot of things going on.”

 

Allison’s expression softened and she nodded gently. “I’m sorry, too.” She took gradual steps forward until she and Andy were little more than arm’s length from each other. “I was kind of an asshole to you when we were growing up.”

 

“Nah,” Andy shook her head dismissively. “You weren’t that bad, honestly. You and Luther were more indifferent. I could handle your snide comments and dirty looks.” She noticed Allison squirm just a little with the memory. “But I couldn’t stand the way you treated Vanya.”

 

Allison looked genuinely confused when she met Andy’s gaze. “What do you mean? We were barely allowed to talk to her growing up.”

 

“Are… are you serious?” Andy had some trouble believing her ears. Allison nodded a bit sarcastically with actually made Andy angry. “She tried to spend time with you guys, _tried_ to, but every one of you always told her to piss off, told her she wasn’t welcomed because she wasn’t special, and then when she did leave you alone, you’d turn around and blame her for not wanting to spend time with the family.”

 

Allison’s jaw tightened and her back straightened just a bit. In her heels, she was a few inches taller than Andy, and as a result, she was given the chance to stare down her nose at the brunette.

 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said in a clipped voice.

 

“I was there.” Andy said angrily. “I saw it. And you have no idea how much you actually hurt her when we were growing up, do you? I didn’t give a shit what you did to me. I’d been through worse, but you were terrible to your own sister. Klaus and Ben were always off doing their own things, but you, Luther, Diego –well,” she cut herself off quickly. “Diego’s an asshole to everyone, but yeah. _That’s_ why I hated you. I never understood why you guys thought her not having powers meant she was the odd-man out. _We’re_ the freaks.”

 

Allison said nothing, and Andy didn’t truly expect her to. So, with a halfhearted wave, and a resolve to try and hook up with Vanya again later, Andy left.

 

It really did bother her how to Hargreeves children treated one another. There was normal sibling rivalry, but they took it to a new level. She had no idea why, either. They were horrible to each other, and then were surprised when their sibling was horrible back. Andy never understood it. They were lucky enough to have a family and didn’t even appreciate it. Instead, they seemed to lament it.

 

* * *

 

 

The sun had set some time ago and the clock was ticking toward ten o’clock that night. Needless to say, Theo had missed her flight.

 

Sitting in the den on one of the bullet-ridden couches, Theo had her phone to her ear and her face buried in her hand.

 

“What’s that name again, ma’am?” The woman on the other end of the line asked for the third time.

 

“Klaus,” Theo said through a tight jaw. “Hargreeves.” She proceeded to spell each name for the inept secretary.

 

“Okay,” She said in a sing-song tone. Theo heard the faint click of a keyboard. “I’m sorry, ma’am. There’s no one here with that name. Are you sure he was brought to _this_ hospital?”

 

“No,” she sighed and fell back, staring up at the ceiling as she did. “He might have been brought in as a John Doe, overdose most likely.”

 

There was more clicking. “I’m sorry, ma’am. We haven’t had any overdoses so far.”

 

“Check the morgue.” Her confrontational edge had vanished, replaced with a genuine fear that Klaus had finally killed himself this time. “John Doe, Caucasian, thirty years old, thin build, dark hair.”

 

More clicking. “We have two John Does, but I’m afraid one is a gentleman in his sixties, and the other is an African American gentleman, thirty years old.”

 

Cold swept through Theo. She thanked the woman on the end of the line and hung up before pulling up the number to another hospital and repeating everything she’d just gone through.

 

She couldn’t find Klaus anywhere, and Theo knew where to look. More than once when they were younger, she’d gone out to find him because she was scared. More than once, she’d called hospitals and morgues, and shitty little no-tell motels. She usually found him eventually, and brought him home to sober up.

 

But she couldn’t find him now.

 

She knew something would happen to keep her from leaving. She knew she would be stuck again if she didn’t run away as quickly as possible, but what was she supposed to do? Theo promised Klaus that she’d say goodbye to him in person, and she meant it. She had no intentions of walking away without seeing him again.

 

* * *

 

 

Andy dragged herself into the house. She needed to sleep, if only for a little while, before she started her search again. She’d spent the night and the majority of the day going from one shitty motel to another with a picture of Klaus. The longer she trudged through the city without making headway, the worse she felt. It simply meant that the likelihood of Klaus in a ditch somewhere was higher. When she came across one place that was roped off by the police, she'd thought at firs they found an OD in one of the rooms, but no. She overheard a few of the cops talking about how another officer had been shot and killed. Andy felt bad for that, but moved on. Clearly, Klaus wasn't there.

 

As she closed the front door behind her, she heard voices in the other room. If anything, she could ask the others if they’d seen the brother they seemed to give the least of a shit about, but then she heard a familiar voice.

 

Anger instantly swelled within her as she charged toward the library. The moment her eyes fell to Klaus, sitting on the couch surrounded by his siblings, that anger turned to rage.

 

“You must be _fucking_ joking.” She snapped, drawing attention to her quickly.

 

“Hey, Andy.” Klaus greeted with a crooked smile and weak wave. “How’s it goin’?”

 

Her brows rose as she looked at him with wide eyes.

 

“How’s it… are you serious?” She slowly stepped deeper into the library. “I just spent the last forty hours, _forty_ hours, scouring every hospital, morgue, police station and shitty motel in the city trying to find you, and you’ve been here the whole time?”

 

“Well… no.”

 

“Then where?” She snapped. He jumped, but she didn’t care. She was exhausted and furious.

 

“Well… I was kind of kidnapped by those psychos and then accidentally time traveled and then-“ He was rambling and she wasn’t in the mood.

 

“Shut up.”

 

“Yup…”

 

“You made me promise not to leave without saying goodbye, and then you just disappear. Was that so I’d miss my flight home?”

 

“No,”

 

She ran her fingers through her hair, gripping it at the crown of her head in frustration. Klaus slowly rose from his seat and took a step forward, drawing her attention.

 

“You’re not leaving already, are you?”

 

“Yeah,” She said with a clipped sigh. “I’ve had enough of this place and everybody being in it for themselves. I’m going home.”

 

With a brisk wave that was more to the room than any one person, Andy turned around to leave.

 

“No, wait, wait, wait,” Klaus said quickly, halting her escape. Andy hesitated. “Hey,” He looked at his siblings. “Maybe she can help, right? I mean, all hands on deck.”

 

“Help with what?” Andy asked skeptically.

 

“Nothing,” Luther told her shortly. He looked at a crestfallen Klaus. “This is a family problem. Let her go.”

 

Andy should have expected it, but for some reason, his callous attitude still surprised her. With a scoff, she shook her head. As she walked away, Andy flicked her wrist. Luther’s coffee cup fell over, spilling the liquid all over him. He cried out, either from shock or the heat of it.

 

“Jesus,” He grumbled before shouting at her. “Real mature, Andorra!”

 

Andy flipped him off over her shoulder before she made it to the foyer. She leaned down, lifted her bag, and left the Academy.

 

* * *

 

 

In the library, while the others spoke, Klaus still thought periodically of Andy. She looked so angry. He couldn’t believe that she spent so long looking for him. It wasn’t the first time, sure, but it still shocked him given they’d spent years apart since the last time.

 

“I mean, I was giving him daily updates.” Luther’s voice tended to drone on, slipping into the background and easy for Klaus to ignore, but for some reason, that brought him back to the moment.

 

“But, wait,” Klaus said. “Five said that we all, like… died last time.”

 

“Shockingly, Klaus has a point.” Diego said while he casually flipped a knife around his finger. “What gives us a win this time?”

 

Luther opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a blue, pulsing cloud of electricity that appeared above the bar and instantly spat out Number Five.

 

Five landed on a briefcase hard, grunting from the force before tumbling off of the surface and to the floor. With a groan, he managed to get himself to his feet, and still without a word, snatched Allison’s coffee away from her.

 

After he finished it, he threw it into the distance and turned his sharp attention on his siblings.

 

“So, the Apocalypse is in three days. The only chance we have to save the world is, well, us.” He didn’t sound entirely happy with the prospect.

 

“The Umbrella Academy, yeah.” Luther said.

 

“Yeah, but with me, obviously. So, if y’all don’t get your sideshow acts together, we’re screwed. Who cares if Dad screwed us up. Are we gonna let that define us? No. So, to give us a fighting chance, I came back with a lead.” He produced a piece of paper from his pocket. “This is who we have to stop.”

 

Allison reached for the paper and he handed it over. She unfolded it while the others congregated behind her.

 

“Harold Jenkins?” She asked.

 

“Who the hell is Harold Jenkins?” Diego asked.

 

“No idea.” Five replied. Their collective faces dropped.

 

He went on to explain everything the best he could, and Klaus attempted to keep up, but he felt like he was on fire. His entire body was in the midst of withdrawals –sweating, shaking, the works. He felt like he was going to vomit all over the expensive rug, but somehow managed to keep it down. At least for the time being, he managed.

 

“Because this time I’m here.” Five snapped angrily, bringing Klaus back into the argument. “We can-“ Five suddenly paused. He glanced around quickly. “Where’s Andorra?”

 

“Gone,” Luther said with a shrug. “Why?”

 

“No, no, no, no.” Five growled. “We need e _veryone_.”

 

“We don’t need her. It’s fine.” Diego said.

 

“Yes, we do.” Five’s voice remained sharp and short. “She was here last time, in the rubble just like everyone else. Where was she going?”

 

“The airport.” Klaus said with a groan. “She’s going to fly back home.”

 

Five let out a loud, angry growl. “We need to get her back here. Now.”


	7. Chapter 7

_Episode 7_

 

Andy had been arguing with the teller for nearly ten minutes and made no headway. How could someone be so difficult? It wasn’t her fault that she missed her flight. Why was it so hard to just switch around some dates?

 

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” The teller said again, sounding anything but apologetic. “But, if you wish to board the next flight, you’ll have to pay for the difference.”

 

“Which is?” She asked with a growl.

 

“Short-notice,” The teller typed away at the keyboard in front of her. “That would bring it to a difference of nine-hundred and eighty-four dollars.”

 

“Are you kidding me?” Andy snapped. “I just missed my flight! Why is it so expensive?”

 

“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to lower your voice.”

 

“This is ridiculous!” She was furious.

 

“Ma’am, I’m warn-“

 

Before the teller could finish her threat, Andy saw a flash of blue out of the corner of her eye. The teller stared in absolute shock to Andy’s left.

 

“Andorra,”

 

She glanced over and saw Five approach her with intent.

 

“Five,” She gave him a nod of acknowledgement before turning her attention to the teller once more. “Look, lady, I need to get home, okay? Just-“

 

“Andorra,” He said firmly.

 

“What?” She snapped at him.

 

“You need to come back to the Academy with me.”

 

“No thanks. I’m all f _amilied_ out.”

 

When she tried to go back to what she was doing again, Five seemed to reach the end of his rope.

 

“Hey,” He said, grabbing her arm sharply to get her attention. She looked down at him warningly. “The end of the world is going to happen in three days, so we need everyone. You included.”

 

She stared down at him curiously because what he just said was absolutely ridiculous. He noticed her skepticism and sighed loudly.

 

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

 

“No,” She said as though it should have been obvious. “I don’t even know you. This could just be some weird joke. Maybe you have a twisted sense of humor, I don’t know.”

 

“I don’t have a sense of humor.” He said in a deadpan tone.

 

“Clearly.” She mumbled.

 

“Come on,” He took hold of her arm again, and even grabbed her bag. “We need to get back. We can’t waste any time. Diego’s already trying to get us an address for Harold Jenkins.”

 

Whether she wanted to or not, Andy found herself following the old man in the child’s body.

 

“Who the hell is Harold Jenkins?”

 

* * *

 

 

Five drove them to the police station to meet with Diego and Allison, explaining everything the whole way. Andy wanted to call bullshit, but she couldn’t. She’d seen and been through so much ‘weird’ since joining The Academy that sure, why not?

 

After retrieving the file and learning that Vanya’s new boyfriend was the person Five needed to find, the four of them made their way to his house. Almost immediately, everyone broke apart. Allison scampered off, Five jumped somewhere, which left Diego and Andy on the front porch.

 

“Seriously?” He grumbled with annoyance.

 

Andy said nothing. With a shake of his head, Diego, to her shock, launched himself through the front door’s glass.

 

“Whoa!” She exclaimed. “What the hell, Diego?”

 

Groaning, he pushed himself to his feet. Andy reached for the doorknob and turned it. The door easily opened and her stunned expression changed to one of utter disbelief.

 

“The door was unlocked, you know.” She said as she entered the house.

 

“Yeah, well,” He stood slowly. Chunks of glass fell from his clothes and landed on the floor in a tinkling cascade. “My way works just fine.” He began to limp away. “Yell if, y’know, you’re in trouble.”

 

“Inspiring leadership.” Five mumbled derisively.

 

Allison tacked on with, “One of the greats,” before the three broke apart to search.

 

Harold’s house was plain and simple. It looked just like everyone else’s in the neighborhood. He had knick knacks and tchotchkes, crap that had been passed down for however long, and everything in between. In truth, it looked like the house someone’s grandmother might live in, but not something overly sinister.

 

“Hey guys!” Allison called from above. “You should see this!”

 

Together, Andy, Five, and Diego charged upstairs and into the attic to find what caused Allison to shout for them. Andy’s stomach sank. It was a shrine, an angry, vindictive shrine, with all of them present.

 

Publicity photos, magazine articles, and action figures bearing their likenesses were burned, melted, and scratched all to hell. Andy had arrived after Five’s disappearance, but she too fought on missions and had a few trinkets made up in her image as well.

 

There were no words to describe how unsettling it was to see yourself destroyed in what could only be described as a serial killer’s shrine. Her figurine’s head was melted off, the eyes to her poster were gouged out, and giant red Xes crossed out her face. It was disturbing.

 

“Jesus,” She muttered.

 

“Well, that’s not creepy.” Diego said sarcastically. “This guy’s got some serious issues.”

 

“Shit,” Five mumbled.

 

“This was never about Vanya.” Allison said. “This was about us.”

 

Andy couldn’t look away from the disturbing scene until she heard something fall against the floor. It was only then that she realized something that should have been painfully obvious to her the entire time: Five was bleeding –badly.

 

“Shit,” She hissed.

 

“Damn it, Five.” Diego growled. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

 

“Can’t stop.” He said weakly. “Keep going.”

 

“Watch out.” Andy pushed her way to Five’s side and placed her hand over the wound. The blood stopped immediately, but she wasn’t encouraged by what she sensed. “He’s lost a lot of blood.”

 

“No shit.” Diego snapped. She shot him an angry glare.

 

“I mean, he’s lost too many pints. We need to get him back to the academy.”

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Trying to help.” She growled back. “Stop talking.”

 

Now that everyone had shut up, Andy could see what she was doing. Even with her eyes closed, she could sense everything, sense where the blood flowed, and where its path was broken. While the shot was clean, she could see where the muscle was torn and where veins had been severed. She saw it all as clearly as one would through sonar. It was difficult to describe, but true.

 

People never realized how large a part water played in their day to day, what it effected, and how detrimental it could be to become dehydrated. But Andy knew. She had to. Part of her training when the sadistic Old Man wanted her to learn how to control living creatures was reading. She had to study anatomy and biology, read medical book after medical book until the words blended together and she couldn’t absorb anymore. Hargreeves wanted her to know how to isolate veins and threads of muscle so that she could rebuild them. He wanted her to be able to heal his other children if they were ever injured, to mend whatever was broken. He wanted her to be to them what her water tank was to her: an accelerated way to restore one’s body.

 

At first, she thought that was great. In fact, in her teenaged-mind, it was amazing, but with the good came the bad. He also wanted her to use that knowledge to tear apart a human body as easily as she mended it. That was when he started her practicing on live creatures, and where she drew the line –albeit far too late.

 

Andy kept her concentration on the task at hand and refused to let her mind wander. When she spoke again, her voice was distant.

 

“We need to get him to The Academy.” She mumbled.

 

“Fine,” He growled. “Do you have to keep holding him like that?”

 

“It’ll help.” She said. Andy’s mind raced as she tried to think of what to do while simultaneously doing what she could to keep Five stable. “Um, okay… I’ll carry him. You guys go down first, then I’ll hand him to you, then we can get out of here, okay?”

 

“Yeah,” Allison nodded and immediately went for the steps that led to the attic.

 

“You sure you can pick him up?”

 

Andy nodded. Looping her arms under him, she tossed him over her shoulder and stood. It was awkward, true, but she managed to the task well enough.

 

Diego’s brows rose. He seemed shocked, though she didn’t know why. Five couldn’t have weighed much more than a hundred pounds. Andy was stronger than he gave her credit for.

 

Diego raced down the ladder as quickly as he could and as she said she would, Andy tenderly handed the pair Five. When he was secured, she joined them, picked him up again, and they fled the house. Allison rode up front with Diego while Andy cradled Five in her lap. She did her best to concentrate on healing him, but it was hard. The best she could do was keep the remaining blood inside his body.

 

* * *

 

 

Klaus was dead. He was dead and sitting in a barber shop being tended to by his father.

 

Was there a word to describe how he felt?

 

No. There wasn’t.

 

And to make the situation even stranger, he was being lectured by the old man with the monocle.

 

“You children like to blame everything on me.” Hargreeves said.

 

“Well,” Klaus sighed as the razor slid effortlessly across his cheek. “That’s because you’re a sadistic prick. Not to mention the world’s worst father.”

 

“I just wanted you to live up to your potential.” He said. “You especially. You’re my greatest disappointment, Number Four. You’ve barely scratched the surface of what you’re capable of.”

 

Klaus rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to listen to his father berating him. He’d gotten enough of it while he was alive, and yet the old man didn’t seem finished. Even from the grave he found ways to belittle his son, to make him feel lesser, but one thing he said rang out in Klaus’s ears.

 

“You mean,” he mumbled in shock as Hargreeves dragged the razor across his throat. A tear slowly trickled down Klaus’s cheek as the realization hit him. “No.” He whispered. “You… you killed yourself?”

 

“M-hm,”

 

“Christ. You could never do things the easy way, could you? Did you ever consider picking up a phone?”

 

“Would you have answered?”

 

He had him there.

 

“Now,” Hargreeves said sternly. “Listen to me very carefully, Number Four. What I’m about to-“

 

But the image of his father began to fade. Klaus struggled against whatever was pulling him back into the real world, but it won out in the end.

 

With a gasp, he shot up, surrounded by people and the beating thump of the music. He was disoriented, but somehow managed to pull himself to his feet. Klaus stumbled as he called for Luther, pushing his way through the masses.

 

The bouncer had thrown his brother out while Klaus was dead.

 

* * *

 

 

_Episode 8_

 

Andy had spent most of the night doing what she could to help Five heal. It wasn’t much, but she mended what she could. The trouble, however, was because she never finished learning everything she needed to know to be a proper healer, Andy was forced to exert herself quite a bit and had to take repeated breaks after little was accomplished. It frustrated her to no end.

 

By the time she went to bed, she was beyond exhausted and felt hung over. To be awakened from that state by a loud, obnoxious bell, in turn, put her in a bad mood.

 

As the sound grew louder and louder, and more and more persistent, she couldn’t help herself. Andy threw open her door and charged down the hall where she found Klaus speaking to Luther, ringing the bell repeatedly while he danced around. Halfway down the hall, she paused. Andy was temporarily stunned motionless at the sight of Luther’s body, covered in hair and appearing more simian than human. But, she was brought right back to reality when Klaus began to chime the bell once more.

 

With a scowl, she reached the pair and snatched the bell out of Klaus’s hand.

 

“Wha- hey!” he exclaimed as she lobbed it down the hall.

 

She turned an angry eye to him. “Too. Early.”

 

“Okay,” He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, but uh… family meeting, downstairs. Get dressed and meet us in the kitchen.”

 

Without a word, she turned and retreated to her room. Andy had a splitting headache and she wanted nothing more than to go to her tank, but she didn’t. Instead, she got dressed and made her way to the kitchen where she was joined by Klaus, Luther, and Five.

 

As the three sat at the table, Klaus paced. He was unsure of himself, disturbingly sober –yes- but unable to sit down, and playing with a spatula for some reason.

 

When he opened his mouth, however, they were finally given an explanation as to why he couldn’t stand still.

 

“I’m sorry, what?” Andy asked. She felt as though she hadn’t heard him right.

 

“Klaus, I swear to God, if you’re lying-“ Luther threatened.

 

“I’m not!” Klaus exclaimed. “He killed himself. Really.”

 

“Why?” Five asked.

 

“He said it was the only way he could get everyone under the same roof.”

 

The room fell silent again for a moment or two before Luther pushed himself to his feet.

 

“I’m not going to sit here and listen to this.” He said. “It’s bullshit.”

 

“I’m afraid Master Klaus is correct.” Pogo entered the kitchen. His heavy eyes glided over the young adults he’d helped raise.

 

“What are you talking about?” Luther asked.

 

Pogo went on to explain that Hargreeves had orchestrated the whole ordeal, even going so far as to doctor footage and alter Grace’s programming. It seemed as though he didn’t bother with missing a single detail. Andy didn’t know if it was creepy, or impressive.

 

“I’m leaving.” Luther pushed past Pogo and disappeared.

 

“I need to think.” Five replied. He, too, vanished in a flash of blue.

 

Andy was still sat at the table, leaning back in her chair and staring into nothingness.

 

Silence moved into the room. Neither she nor Klaus bothered to speak for a while, but the truth was, Andorra wasn’t entirely capable. Her head was still pounding. Her limbs felt weak. Everything within her body felt wrong. She needed water.

 

“Andy?”

 

Klaus’s voice brought her back to the moment. She looked up at him with a heavy gaze. He stared back expectantly, with his thick brows tugged together and his green eyes drenched in worry.

 

“I…” even her voice sounded weak. “I have to go to my tank.”

 

“No,” He whined slightly. “Come on, don’t go to the basement.”

 

“I’m too dehydrated. I need water.”

 

“Then take a bath.” He said. Andy arched a brow. She wondered briefly if he thought she might refuse to emerge from her tank if she were to get into it. At the moment, she couldn’t promise she wouldn’t.

 

“Fine,” She mumbled. Andy wasn’t in the mood to fight. “I’ll take a bath.”

 

Andy rose and made her way upstairs to soak in the bath tub. It would do the trick, but she preferred being entirely submerged, something that was impossible to do in the claw foot tub.

 

Andy liked her powers most days. It was pretty awesome to have control over an element, but it came with massive drawbacks, too. She was incredibly sensitive to just about everything. While she relished in the feeling of the natural water vapor in the air touching her skin, if the humidity dropped below sixty-percent, she felt like she was drying out.  In fact, the only thing she could liken it to was opening a hot oven. The way that burst of hot air dried out a normal person’s face was how she felt if she wasn’t constantly hydrated.

 

Basically, Andy was a damn amphibian in need of constant misting. Same principle in her mind.

 

So, while she could create tidal waves, fog, mist, or create ice spike-projectiles from moisture she’d drawn out of the air, if she wasn’t properly hydrated, she’d dry up like a fish out of water.

 

The moment the tub was filled, Andy stripped herself of clothing and slid into it. She felt instantly better as she slung her legs over the curved edges of the claw foot tub and sank beneath the surface.


	8. Chapter 8

A harsh, loud knock brought Andy almost violently out of her delirium. She shot up, instinctually gasping for air while the water she’d been sleeping in sloshed over the edge of the bathtub. It splashed against the tile floor in a light cascade when there was another trio of raps against the door.

 

“Yeah?” She called out, wiping a hand down her face.

 

“Hurry up!” Five shouted from the other side of the door. “We have shit to do.”

 

“Yeah,” She replied.

 

Andy reached for the chain connected to the stopper and gave it a gentle tug. The water poured out of the bathtub a second later, and she stood. Her nap in the bath made her feel much better than before. She might as well have slept for a week or longer.

 

After getting dressed, Andy emerged from the bathroom about the same time Five and Klaus left the latter’s room.

 

“Come on,” Five barked.

 

Andy and Klaus shared a glance. Klaus made a face, a sort of sarcastic, mocking face that made Andy smile and stifle a laugh. He grinned.

 

It made her feel a little better. Yesterday, she’d been so angry with him, furious in fact, because she had been awake for so damn long just trying to find him. In hindsight, she knew it wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t disappeared on purpose or anything, but in the time, she was so frazzled, so sleep-deprived that she took it out on him.

 

As they followed Five, Andy reached for Klaus’s hand. She threaded her fingers through his and he did the same. When she gave him a light smile, he again, did the same. She’d apologize later. Something told her Five might get a little testier if they ‘spoke out of turn’. He did seem to be taking on the role of a strict Headmaster.

 

The trio made it only a foot or two down the hallway before Diego ran into view.

 

“Where have you been?” Five asked as Diego darted into his room to change.

 

“Jail.” He replied simply. “Long story. Where’s Luther?”

 

“Don’t know.” Five replied.

 

“Yeah,” Klaus sighed. Diego emerged from his bedroom, snapping his knife harness into place. “Two days until the end of the world and he chooses now to drop off the grid.”

 

“We need to find him.” He clicked the final buckle and turned a stern eye to his brothers. “Allison’s in danger.”

 

The trio shared a worried glance, but didn’t question him as he led the way. Andy followed, though she wasn’t entirely certain why. The only real reason she was there was because a kid, who was actually a guy in his fifties, said that she had to fight alongside his family to help stave off the end of the world.

 

Normal, right?

 

* * *

 

 

Andy didn’t think anyone was more surprised that Klaus knew where to find Luther than Klaus. Maybe it was simply a lucky guess. Or, maybe, it was that he just knew what people did when they wanted to drink themselves to death?

 

After uttering the simple phrase that Allison was in trouble, the giant gorilla leapt into action. At first, Andy didn’t understand why he was so moody. It wasn’t until Klaus explained the truth that she got it. Poor thing only _just then_ realized that their father was an asshole. Up until then, he’d always held Hargreeves in high regard, much to the annoyance of his siblings and Andy. She couldn’t imagine how heartbroken he’d been.

 

After clamoring into the vehicle (Andy still didn’t know how they fit) Five sped down the road toward the address Diego had given him. It was a nearly two hour drive.

 

Andy sat up front with Five and Klaus, far more comfortable than she would have been in the backseat with Diego and Luther. When they clamored into the car, he agitatedly asked her why she wouldn’t just sit in the back. Her reply was simple. She told him that she’d rather sit squished in the front seat between someone she liked and someone who was indifferent to her than between two people who didn’t like her. She said it loud enough that Diego and Luther likely heard her, but neither of them remarked on it. She was fairly certain they’d agree.

 

Roughly half-way through the drive, Luther shifted forward.

 

“Can you go any faster?”

 

“Ask me that again, and I’ll burn you with a cigarette lighter.” Five replied through a clenched jaw.

 

Luther slipped back into his seat. He believed Five. They a _ll_ believed Five.

 

The rest of the journey was made in silence, but they finally found the small cabin nestled in the middle of the woods. Together, the group climbed out of the car and up the front porch. There were lights on inside.

 

Luther, unable to walk behind anyone for anything, charged the front door and didn’t hesitate to kick it open. The others soon joined him, but none of them expected what they found inside. Allison was lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood.

 

Andy stood in the back, nearly paralyzed with shock. There’s something incredibly sobering about seeing someone you know so severely injured. It forced a very real chill to course through you and the hairs all over your body to stand on end. As she stood there staring down at a woman she’d known for more than half her life, Andy’s mind flashed with images of Ben.

 

Luther cradled Allison to his chest, sobbing and shaking. Klaus attempted to comfort him. Diego was just as shocked as Andy was, and Five didn’t seem to know what to do. Somehow, through all of that, Andy realized that Allison may actually die, and it forced her to act.

 

Driven more by instinct than desire, Andy pushed past Five and Diego and dropped to Allison’s side. Luther still held her close, jostling her from side to side. He was distraught and not thinking clearly, but what he was doing was dangerous and not helping.

 

“Luther, you have to move.” She told him.

 

He didn’t reply, still mumbling his _no_ and _don’t die_ over and over again. Andy grit her teeth. She touched his shoulder.

 

“Luther, move. I can help her.”

 

But her words didn’t seem to be making it through the haze and time was running out.

 

“Move, Luther.” She repeated.

 

But he wouldn’t, and Andy was becoming increasingly angry. She acted out because of it.

 

“I said, move!” She shoved Luther with her power the same way she had Diego a few days prior, though not as hard.

 

The giant fell into the couch and nearly took it to the ground, but it gave Andy the space she needed.

 

“What the fuck!” Luther bellowed.

 

With her hand on Allison’s throat, she shot Luther a deathly stare. She pitied him for the tears he’d spilt and how pained he looked, but this was serious and he needed to let her work.

 

“I can help her.” She told him sternly. “Now, back off and let me.”

 

“You don’t need to touch her.” He growled. He fought to get to Allison again, to wrap his arms around her, but Diego stood in his path.

 

“Luther, bro.” Diego interjected before the gorilla could hurt her. His voice drew the blonde’s eye. “She’s right, okay? Let her help.”

 

Andy wasn’t the only one shocked by Diego running to her defense.

 

Luther seemed to struggle with the thought, but eventually calmed enough. Andy turned her attention to Allison. The heat of her blood burned Andy’s hand and the fear reflected through her chocolate eyes was heartbreaking.

 

“I’ve got you, okay?” Andy said as kindly as she could. “Just stay calm. Your heart is beating really quickly. Just try to breathe normally, alright?”

 

Allison tried to nod, but stopped herself quickly.

 

“We need to get her to the Academy, now.” Luther demanded. Andy was sure the sheer magnitude of blood on the floor terrified him. It should. It was a lot.

 

“I need to stabilize her first.” Andy said. “Just give me a minute.”

 

Andy took in long, deep breaths and did her best to calm down herself. The atmosphere in the cabin was so charged that she found it harder to focus than she had with Five, and his injury was nothing in comparison.

 

Allison’s pulse thundered beneath Andy’s fingers. The rhythm of it was hypnotic and it gave the young woman something to focus on. The thump, thump, thump of it helped drown out the chaos surrounding her and soon the noise disappeared entirely. Andy saw only the task before her. Even Allison disappeared.

 

The blood that saturated Allison’s skin and pooled beneath her head began to move. Slowly but surely it crept back into the wound hidden beneath Andy’s hand. It was gradual and languid, easily the same speed at which a snail crawled, but it was moving. Andorra couldn’t return all of it because so much had begun to dry or was contaminated, but a pint… she could manage a pint. Allison needed every drop she could get, so Andy did her best.

 

Minutes ticked by until Andy finally felt comfortable enough to divert even a fraction of her concentration.

 

“Pick her up slowly.” She said softly. “I’ll cradle her head.”

 

Luther stepped around her to the other side and crouched down. He easily slid his hands beneath Allison and lifted her slowly. Andy kept her hand clasped firmly over the wound while her free hand cradled the back of Allison’s head. She looked up into Luther’s terrified face.

 

“I have to keep my hand here, okay?”

 

He looked so broken when he nodded that she truly pitied him.

 

“Move slowly so I can keep it there.”

 

“Okay,” He mumbled.

 

It was perhaps one of the most awkward things to manage, and yet somehow they made their way through the door. Luther was a giant which made everything difficult, even more so when they reached the car.

 

“Klaus, can you-“

 

“Yeah,”

 

He quickly darted forward and opened the back door. Andy approached it and stood with her back to the opening.

 

“Take a knee.” She told the giant.

 

He complied and as he lowered himself, Andy slid into the Rolls. Thankfully, Luther seemed to realize quickly what she was attempting and as she dipped into the vehicle, he guided Allison in after her. Andy continued to scoot across the backseat until she reached the opposite door because she assumed Luther would join them. She was right.

 

Once they were safely inside, Diego, Five, and Klaus jumped into the front seat. Five immediately peeled out of the driveway and began the long drive home.

 

Half way there, Andy felt herself slipping again, something that didn’t surprise her in the least given how much energy she was putting forth. But, as though God was smiling down on her for once, it began to rain. She didn’t hesitate to roll her window down completely.

 

“Could you roll that up?” Luther asked as he attempted to shield both his face and Allison’s from the freezing rain.

 

“No,” She told him bluntly. Andy rested her head against the edge of the open window and felt instant relief as the rain stung her face. “I need to keep my energy up.”

 

“Then try coffee.” He snapped.

 

Luther tried to reach across Allison to roll the window up but was quickly stopped. When he looked up, he noticed Andy staring at him intensely. He struggled against the invisible barrier keeping him from touching the knob and soon realized she was the cause.

 

“She’s going to freeze.”

 

“She’ll be fine.” Andy snapped. “But I need it if I’m going to keep her stable.”

 

Luther seemed to weigh his options before finally retracting his hand. When he did, her concentration was able to go back to Allison. Andy once more rested her head as near to the window as she could.

 

“And I can’t drink coffee.” She said. “It has caffeine.”

 

“That’s the point.” He replied.

 

Andy sighed and shook her head. “Caffeine dehydrates you.” She told him plainly. “I can’t have caffeine, sugar, salt, or anything alcoholic.”

 

“Seriously?” She heard Klaus ask from the front seat.

 

“Seriously.” She said.

 

“Not even a little?”

 

“Nope,” Andy sighed. “Average human body is somewhere around sixty-percent water. I’m closer to the high eighties.” She opened her eyes and looked at Luther. “So, I need this,” she motioned her head towards the open window, “And concentration to help her.” She tilted her head at Allison. “Okay?”

 

He didn’t seem happy with the prospect of freezing and getting wet, but thankfully he understood the reason.

 

Andy drifted. She savored each every icy shard of rain that hit her face. She wasn’t lying when she told the guys that she couldn’t have certain things. It was very true, but she refused to have a strict diet. The truth was, she didn’t drink coffee or alcohol, but sugar and salt? Who could give those up completely? Although, she generally paid for it at some point.

 

Think of it as a less sever anaphylactic shock.

 

* * *

 

 

As carefully as they had before, Andy and Luther extracted Allison from the car. Five, Klaus, and Diego ran ahead of them to open doors, which they appreciated.

 

Everything happened so fast, from Grace taking over the stitching, to Diego passing out when he saw the transfusion needle. Soon, Allison was stable and Andy was given the chance to sit. She could no longer stand on her own two feet. Thankfully, she was hooked up to a bag, too.

 

“Where’d you learn how to do that?”

 

Luther’s voice drew Andy into the moment. It wasn’t until he spoke that she realized she’d slipped into a shallow slumber. When she opened her eyes, she saw him staring at her, clasping Allison’s hand in his. Diego was sat on the opposite side with his arm still hooked up to a needle, but he was conscious. Grace was busily working while Pogo, Five, and Klaus lingered just in the background.

 

“Do what?” she asked heavily.

 

“Mom said you fixed some of the damage and you kept her from bleeding out. How’d you learn how to do that?”

 

“The Old Man.” Andy replied as she tried to push herself up in her seat to sit properly. “He said he was teaching me how to heal people.”

 

“That’s amazing.” Five responded.

 

“It was a lie.” Andy nearly spat the words. “He was really teaching me how to tear people apart from the inside, how to unwind muscles and rupture organs or arteries.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The bag wasn’t helping as much as it should, so she took hold of the needle and popped it out of her arm. Andy pushed herself to unsteady feet. “I need my tank.”

 

She stumbled a little as she left the infirmary, but arms caught her. “Come on,” Klaus said. “I’ll take you.”

 

Andy nodded and with his help, the pair made their way to the elevator that would take her to the level with the water tank.

 

They made the journey in silence. In truth, Andy was simply doing her best not to pass out on her feet. When they eventually made it to the basement level and down the hall, she felt a sigh of relief. The sight of the water, the way she felt it lingering in the air, made Andy feel infinitely better already.

 

Klaus made a noise, a grunt of something as he helped her walk up the stairs to the top of the tank. She didn’t blame him. Apparently she was more tired than she thought and while Klaus wasn’t really a weak individual, deadweight was hard for most anyone to support, and that was what she was becoming.

 

Andy lowered herself with Klaus’s help until she sat on the edge of the tank. She let her legs fall into the water.

 

“You good?” He asked despite knowing that yes, she would be fine from that point on.

 

“Yeah,” She nodded. He gave her a smile and was about to leave until she grabbed him. Andy held onto his hand, forcing him to stop. His thick brows pulled together curiously. “I’m sorry.” His curiosity deepened. “I didn’t mean to yell at you yesterday.”

 

Understanding washed through his features. Klaus shifted until he could sit down beside her. He crossed his legs instead of letting them rest in the tank.

 

“It’s fine.”

 

She shook her head. “Not really. I was just so tired and scared and angry that…” Andy sighed and stopped trying to explain herself. “Were you really kidnapped?”

 

“Yeah,” He laughed weakly when he spoke. Disbelief rang out in the single word.

 

Klaus proceeded to tell her what happened, how Chacha and Hazel grabbed him when they couldn’t find Five. He told her how they tortured him, how all of their victims talked to him, and that their briefcase took him to the past.

 

Andy listened quietly, smiled when he told her about Dave, and felt tears prick at her eyes when he said that Dave died in his arms less that forty-eight hours ago. That part broke her heart, shattered it, really.

 

She wrapped her arm around him and hugged him to her side. Klaus let his cheek rest against the top of her head and let his hand sit on her knee. She gently rubbed his back as reassuringly as she could. They remained that way for a while, she didn’t know how long, until Klaus told her that he’d let her get some rest. He kissed her forehead and walked off, waving when he reached the hall. She waved back and then tumbled gracelessly into the water.

 

Relief washed over her as Andy’s body physically absorbed every drop of water that touched her skin. She promptly drifted to the hook in the middle of the floor. Her strap was still tied to it, so Andy threaded it around her left ankle and let herself float. Awake, she’d be able to stay submerged. Asleep, and she knew she’d sleep, she would float. The strap kept that from happening.

 

Andy breathed deep and let herself drift. She thought about Klaus as sleep came. She pitied him for losing a man he called the love of his life. It surprised her a little, though, that Klaus had been with a man. He never struck her as gay. He never struck her as anything, really. To Andy, it would make as much sense for Klaus Hargreeves to be in love with a man or a woman, as it would be for him to be pining over something absolutely random like a tree or even that creepy mannequin Andy had seen Five hanging around with.

 

Maybe she was just shocked because he’d managed to find someone that he genuinely fell in love with. The jealousy was there, jealousy that he’d never see her that way, but she pitied him more. There was nothing worse than not being able to be with the person you love.

 


	9. Chapter 9

_End of Episode 9_

Klaus was still reeling from his fight with Ben. His jaw ached, throbbed with each heartbeat. Despite the evidence that he'd been punched, his brain was unwilling to believe it. He'd been punched by a ghost, by a fucking _ghost_. Of course his brain had trouble.

He had tried to talk to his brothers, but they wouldn't listen. They didn't care. Diego was too bent on getting revenge for Detective Patch, and now that Harold Jenkins was dead, Five didn't seem to care about anything. Luther was useless, too. At least that made more sense. With Allison still recovering, Klaus didn't expect him far from her side for however long it took her to wake up. He doubted anyone did.

And Vanya had powers! Jesus, how was he supposed to come to terms with that? All of their lives they'd been told Vanya was the only normal one, that she was plain, and that she had somehow escaped whatever curse they were all afflicted with, but nope! Turns out that not only does she have powers, but according to Luther, she killed Harold Jenkins and slit Allison's throat.

Christ.

There was only one person in the house he knew he could talk to, one person he knew he could _always_ go to whenever he needed someone to help steady his head.

The elevator came to a sharp, shaky halt. He slid open the grate and walked briskly down the hall toward Andy. His bare feet clapped against the concrete, narrating each step until he made it to the main chamber. Klaus paused when he saw her.

Andy was suspended in the center of the tank, floating like a specter. The water made the lights that illuminated it a sickly green, which in turn forced her fair skin to be the same. Andy had been wearing a loose-fitting shirt and tight jeans. Now that she was floating in the water, her shirt, along with her long, nearly-black hair fluttered and swayed around her body. Her arms were raised as well, not completely out to her sides, but not affected by gravity, either. One leg was bent and slightly raised.

She looked disturbingly graceful and borderline angelic. It was haunting.

Klaus slowly approached until he was within arm's reach of the window. As he looked over her, his gaze landed on her arm. Without a jacket or long sleeves, he saw the scars of her suicide clearly. The bright pink marks were tinted by the same green light, which made them look sickly. He'd never really _looked_ at her scars before. They churned his stomach. For all intents and purposes, she never should have survived. They were angry, illustrating how badly she didn't want to live as she gored at herself.

And where was he? He was in rehab because he got high and passed out behind the wheel. He had no idea she was being tortured, too. He had no idea that she was miserable enough to kill herself because he'd been so consumed with his own pain over Ben's death and how their dad treated him. It never even donned on him that she might have been going through something similar.

He felt guilty.

Klaus's mind flashed with memories of them together growing up, of all three of them hanging out, and times when it was just Klaus and Andy.

The times when he, Andy and Ben were hanging out in one of their rooms were his favorite. It wasn't uncommon for Ben to by lying nearby reading a comic book or something else while Klaus and Andy would paint each other's toenails. They would sit facing one another with their partner's foot in their lap, and paint.

In that room, whether they were in his and Ben's, or Andy's, the three of them were safe. There were no missions, no training exercises, and no Old Man. It was their sanctuary.

How could it all go so horribly wrong?

Klaus lowered himself to the floor and took a seat. He wanted to beat on the glass, to wake Andy up so he could tell her what happened, but part of him didn't want to disturb her just yet. She'd only been in the tank for roughly two hours. Honestly, Klaus had no idea if that was enough for her to recover after what she'd done for Allison, so he let her rest.

* * *

_October 1_ _st_ _, 2005_

Dinner that evening was nothing special, nor did Klaus expect it to be. It was tense, awkward, and almost completely silent beyond the sound of the classical music playing in the background. It felt like time had stood still, but eventually, they were "released". Klaus, Ben, and Andy trudged upstairs.

"Andy's room, five minutes." He said to the two before he dipped into his own bedroom. He didn't bother waiting for a response.

Inside his room, Klaus dropped to his knees at the side of his bed and immediately began to push clothes out of the way. Crumpled uniforms, nasty socks in desperate need of a wash, and underwear just as bad were his barrier, but easily cast aside. He could ignore them, but he knew no one else would even want to try devoid of a hazmat suit.

When they were cast aside, he grabbed a pair of paper bags and pulled them out. A quick glance inside told him that the contents were still in place. A wide smile spread across his lips. Just as quickly as before, he leapt to his feet and charged to Andy's room.

The lady herself was sitting on her bed with a much prettier bag to her left and a massive square wrapped to her right. She smiled at him and scooted back until she could lean against the wall. She took the bag and square too, giving Klaus the ability to jump onto her bed, which he did. The springs groaned and squeaked while he bounced, but he didn't care.

They sat impatiently waiting until only a moment later Ben appeared. Klaus shifted until he could sit with his legs crossed, back to the headboard and the paper bags in his lap. Ben joined them on the bed and sat with his back facing the footboard. He produced something wrapped in a plastic bag from the left pocket and a small box from the right.

They looked at one another, each grinning, and then, in unison, they cried out, "Happy Birthday!"

Each of them had sat in such a way that the gift in their left hand was meant for the person to their left, and the same with the right. There was no reaching over each other to hand things off. As a result, they easily set each gift down in front of the person they were for.

"Who's going-" Ben didn't even get to finish his question before Klaus began to tear greedily into his presents.

First, he opened the biggest, obviously. It was a vinyl record, _Jimi Hendrix's Greatest Hits._ He beamed. About a month ago when the trio were out, he'd spotted it and made the comment that he'd like to have it. Andy remembered.

"Thank you!" He said in an exaggerated way. Klaus set the record aside and launched himself at Andy, taking her to the bed as he placed ridiculous kisses on the side of her face, practically smothering her in them.

"Get off of me!" She laughed as she shoved at him.

Still grinning, he pushed himself back into his seat and motioned at her. "Go ahead."

Andy looked over the paper bag and little box. She seemed to struggle over the thought briefly before grabbing the box Ben had given her. It wasn't wrapped, just a plain little white box, so she opened it easily. Inside was a pair of earrings, little studs with a blue stone. Andy's face instantly lit up.

"Oh, thank you!" She immediately threw her arms around Ben's shoulders and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. Klaus snickered as his brother blushed a little and shied away as she regained her seat.

"You're welcome," He mumbled.

As Andy took out the silver hoops she was wearing and began to replace them with the blue studs, Ben reached for Klaus's paper bag present. He opened it up and glanced inside. Klaus was practically vibrating with excitement.

Ben reached in and pulled out a mass of fabric. He set the bag aside and took hold of the shoulders of the shirt. He gave it a sharp snap which let it fall open completely. He immediately scowled. Klaus couldn't hide his laughter, and he didn't bother trying.

"What's wrong?" Andy asked. She couldn't see the logo, only the back of the rather short green shirt.

Still scowling, Ben turned it around and held it against his chest. The words _Swamp Thing_ were sprawled across the chest and the monster itself was partially visible. He would have been completely visible if Klaus hadn't taken it upon himself to cut the shirt in half. Held up to Ben's chest, it would have clearly left almost all of his stomach completely bare.

"So your little beasties can get out." Klaus explained.

Ben's glower deepened while Klaus erupted with laughter. Andy slapped his arm, but it did nothing to dampen his mood. He thought it was hilarious. Come on, a Swamp Thing mid-drift shirt for a guy who had a portal to all sorts of Lovecraftian-like monsters in his gut? That was awesome!

"Come on, bro," Klaus held out his arms wide. "Give me some love."

He blew Ben a few kisses, but his brother wasn't completely willing to bury the hatchet just yet, apparently. If Klaus thought he'd genuinely hurt Ben's feelings, he wouldn't have bothered. He knew Ben was just embarrassed, not actually offended.

"You're an asshole." Ben replied. "Makes me glad I got you that."

He pointed to the small plastic bag which Klaus promptly opened. It was a pair of bejeweled barrettes, the kind made for little girls who hadn't reached double-digit age. They were bright pink, bedazzled in matching gems, and had a pair of gold crowns on them, too.

"Oh, they're beautiful!" He gushed like an idiot and promptly removed them from their piece of stock card. "I'm going to wear these _every day_."

And true to his word, he gathered a handful of his tangled curls to the left and clipped it in place. He did the same to the right a second later. Klaus tilted his head to the side, flashed a smile, and fluttered his lashes.

"I'm a princess," He said. Ben and Andy smiled and shook their heads at him. "Come on, Andy. One more."

She grabbed his paper-bag-present and opened it up. Almost immediately, she rolled her eyes, but her smile grew as she pulled out the present. It was a pair of arm floaties, the kind people bought little kids and toddlers who couldn't swim.

"Thank you," She said sarcastically.

Andy hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him over, placing a kiss on his cheek. He kept his smile. It was Ben's turn to open his present. He reached into Andy's much-prettier bag and removed a few comic books. His face lit up. Klaus didn't know if they were any good or not, but judging by Ben's excitement over them, they must have been ones he wanted.

"Thanks, Andy."

The embarrassment from before was gone as he hugged her tightly.

Klaus leaned back against the headboard once again and took his record into his hands. He couldn't wait to listen to it and almost wanted to go to his room right that minute to do so, but he didn't. He wanted to stay in Andy's room more. In there, it actually felt like their birthday. Once he stepped past the threshold, he knew that feeling would dissipate.

As he turned the record over, Klaus saw something out of the corner of his eye. There was a small box sitting on her end table, wrapped with a bow. His brows creased curiously. He reached over and grabbed it.

"What's this?" He shook it and heard something rattle around inside.

"Oh, that's for Vanya." Andy said. He eyed her. "It's just some rosin and new strings for her bow." She shrugged her shoulder. "I think she might like it."

Klaus grinned as he looked at her. Andy was a really good gift-giver. She knew what people wanted, and she did her best to accommodate. Klaus bought gag-gifts. Well, maybe not "bought". Most of them he stole.

Their birthday wasn't celebrated within the walls of the Academy. The Old Man didn't care about it, or any other holidays. It was usually Mom and Pogo who would do anything. Like that morning, Mom made them all Birthday Waffles: waffles with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and chocolate chips. They were diabetes on a plate, and so good. Pogo generally got them all a card. He never really left the grounds, but he usually did something simple for each of the kids.

When it came to the children themselves, they usually gave each other presents, but it wasn't for everyone. Basically, they bought presents for the siblings they actually liked, which meant Klaus knew he wouldn't get anything from Allison, Diego, or Luther. Vanya tended to give them cards, something small and inconsequential, but something all the same. Klaus also knew that Diego, Luther, and Allison didn't expect anything from him. He would at least wish Vanya a happy birthday, though. But, the only people he actually got anything for were the two sitting with him, and even then, Klaus knew they weren't "real" presents.

They stayed in her room for a while. Andy even blew up her floaties and slid them up her arms. She wore them proudly along with the earrings Ben had gotten her. Klaus couldn't stop laughing at her for it. Ben was happy reading his comics and Klaus happily sang Purple Haze, badly.

Not a bad Sweet 16.

* * *

_October 1_ _st_ _, 2007_

Ben stood off to the side with his shirt pulled partially up. He was standing in front of a floor-length mirror poking the plastic wrap covering his fresh tattoo. Klaus was sitting beside Andy, watching the tattoo artist finish applying her ink with fascination. He'd watched Ben's, too. He'd tried to watch his own, but he kept bending too much and his artist was getting annoyed. Fair enough.

When the final lines had been put in place, the artist set his gun aside, sprayed a copious amount of alcohol onto a paper towel and cleaned off the piece. Andy hissed and squirmed a little, but remained in place until he smeared some clear goop over it and taped it up like he had with Klaus's and Ben's.

The artist was sure to give them proper care tips, but they didn't need them. It wasn't as though they were tattoo-virgins. They'd been inked since they were ten, Andy as soon as she joined the Academy at thirteen.

Before they left, Klaus and the others stood in front of the mirror that had held Ben's attention for a while. They each lifted their shirts just a bit to reveal what they'd done. For their eighteenth birthday, each of them got a star on their hip. It was nothing special, a simple design with a thick outline only a few inches big, but it was just for them. All six of them had the umbrella, but only Ben, Klaus, and Andy had the star.

* * *

_Present:_

Klaus thought back to all those times, those brief seconds of happiness in the sea of shit, as he stared at Andy in the tank. Every once and a while, whenever the filtered water caused her shirt to flutter, he'd catch a glimpse of the star peeking out over the waist of her jeans. It was nothing more than the tip, but it still brought back those memories all the same.

As he sat there, having lost count of the minutes that had passed, Andy began to stir. He perked. Inside the tank, he saw her stretch, arms above her head and her body long. A moment later, she relaxed once again and opened her eyes. He could tell when she saw him because she seemed confused at first. Klaus simply smiled and waved. Her confusion disappeared quickly after and she smiled back, waving softly in return.

Klaus pushed himself to his feet and approached the glass that separated him. Without hesitation, he pushed his face against it, put his lips to the cold, unforgiving surface, and puffed out his cheeks like an idiot. Andy silently laughed at him and shook her head at his stupidity. He grinned, stepped back, and pointed up. She nodded. Klaus caught sight of her leaning down to untie her ankle as he jogged up the steps. She emerged an instant later.

"Hey," He said as he took a seat on the platform.

"Hi," She grinned. Andy climbed up the ladder to sit beside him.

"Feel better?"

"Much," She sighed. "How's Allison?"

"Still sleeping, but she's stable."

"Good."

"That was amazing." He said.

Andy looked away out of embarrassment, but he could see the blush in her cheeks. She picked at her jeans a little.

"It was okay." She muttered. "I'm actually surprised it worked." She met his gaze. "It's not like I kept up with my training when I left. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't pass out on the way back to the Academy."

"That happen a lot?"

"If I exert myself, yeah." She nodded. "I mean, small stuff, that's easy."

Andy's attention shifted back to the tank. Klaus followed her eye. When she began to wave her hands, the water responded. It pulsed and shifted, and soon an orb began to separate from it. It was roughly the size of a basketball, a perfect circle of solid water.

"Stuff like this," She continued, but Klaus kept his attention on the orb. It was beginning to crystalize. Little flashes of white began to form and spread, and it was then he realized that she was freezing it. "This isn't hard to do." He grinned as he watched the orb soon turn into a solid block of ice. "It can be really fun, actually."

Without warning, Andy clapped hard. The orb immediately exploded, filling the room with flurries. Klaus chuckled and Andy smiled as the flurries slowly trickled down. He held out his hand and caught some of them, marveling at the way they melted in his palm.

"But healing people," She finally looked at him again and her smile faded. "It's really hard. It takes a lot of effort and I guess I just never built up those muscles."

"What's it feel like?"

Andy didn't immediately speak. Instead, she seemed to give his question genuine thought before coming to an answer.

"Have you ever had the flu before?" She asked. He nodded. "You know that feeling when your body is just so weak, so heavy that you can't even move?" He nodded again. "It feels like that."

"Hm," Klaus mumbled. That had to suck.

"So," She said with a sigh, drawing his attention again. "What brings you down here?"

Klaus formed an awkward grin and proceeded to tell her the story of Ben cold-cocking him and Vanya having powers.

 


	10. Chapter 10

_Episode 10_

The building began to tremble. It shocked Andy out of her shallow sleep. After she talked with Klaus for a while, she went back to her tank to get her energy up even more, like a boost, but the way the world shook around her terrified her. Andy shot out of the tank, not bothering with the stairs and instead riding a wave of water up and over the edge. Earthquakes weren't entirely unheard of, but they were generally fairly small, tremors really. This wasn't that, and Andy sure as hell wasn't going to stay three stories below ground.

Her heart raced the longer she was forced to stand within the small cubicle of the elevator. She was terrified that it would snap loose and plummet to untold depths beneath the manor. The two-minute ride felt so goddamn long.

The shaking got worse by the time the elevator came to a halt. She didn't hesitate to throw the grate open and race out. Her pants thwacked against the hardwood and tile, her bare feet clapped, and more than once she thought she would fall on her face, but she did her best.

Andy rounded the corner that led to the foyer and almost ran face-first into Allison and Luther.

"What the hell is happening?" She yelled as the building continued to shake and pieces of it broke away and fell to the floor around them.

"Vanya," Luther said. "Run!"

He held Allison's hand and ran with her through the front door. Andy followed. They barely made it out and across the street before the building crumbled completely. The three of them hid behind a car as dust and debris filled the air.

A minute later, maybe two, when they were sure that everything had settled, they slowly began to stand. Andy stared at the rubble that had once been her childhood home. The entire estate hadn't been taken to the ground, but the heart of it, the main center of it, was now nothing.

As the shock of the moment began to waver just enough her mind could clear, Andy realized that Klaus was nowhere to be seen. A quick burst of panic filled her.

"Klaus?" She called out. When she was greeted by silence, Andy didn't hesitate to race towards the smoking debris. "Klaus?!"

She didn't care how many rocks dug into her feet, or how badly they were scraped as she clamored over the rubble, she only wanted to find Klaus. The more she called out, the less she heard in response. Panic began to grip her chest. She was terrified that she would see him buried beneath something heavy.

"Kla-" Her words were cut short when she spotted the thin young man in the leather pants. "Oh, thank God."

She ran for him as best she could through the blocks and he did the same. The moment he was near enough, Andy threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tight. He hugged her in return. He was the only other person she had left in the world. With Ben gone and Vanya apparently nuts, she couldn't lose Klaus. She _wouldn't_ lose Klaus.

"You got out." He said on a breath. Andy fisted his vest. "Thank God. I thought you were still in the basement."

She shook her head as best she could. "I got out as soon as I felt the house shaking."

They eventually drew back and Andy couldn't fight the smile. She was just so happy that he was okay. He smiled in relief, too, and when they parted completely, Andy took his hand. Klaus held it.

It wasn't until Five joined them that the reality of the situation became even clearer than before. Vanya would destroy the world, Grace and Pogo were dead, and they had no idea how to stop it.

Without warning, a helicopter appeared overhead. The area was immediately flooded with light. In the distance, they could hear sirens closing in.

"Regroup at the Superstar!" Luther called out as they scattered.

* * *

They had been at the bowling alley for twenty minutes, and that seemed to be as long as Andy could stand listening to Luther talk. Every time someone else tried, he shot them down. Every time someone suggested anything, he acted like it was the dumbest plan he'd ever heard. Given he wasn't really known for his brains, it drew on Andy's nerves until, finally, she just lost patience with him. They weren't kids anymore. He wasn't the boss.

"Since when do you get to call the shots?" Andy snapped.

Luther turned his angry eye to her. "I'm the leader." He scoffed as his eyes danced over her and he made a face, a face of disgust and disinterest –a face she'd seen from him a dozen times growing up. "Y'know what, I still don't even know why you're here. I mean, do you really expect any of us to listen to someone who's obviously mentally unstable."

He motioned at her arm which was on display because she'd never had time to grab a coat as the Academy came down.

Luther stood high on his pedestal, lording himself over everyone else as he spoke like he had since they were kids. He was surrounded in that air of superiority. It made Andy's blood boil. He wasn't better than them. He wasn't anything but a guy who could lift up heavy stuff. He wasn't smarter.

And finally, probably because she was emotionally stretched so thin after Grace and Pogo died, Andy snapped.

"You're not a leader!" She practically yelled. "Don't you remember what it was like when we were kids? Every mission you ended up being in control of, _every_ mission, resulted in someone being shot, stabbed, broken bones, burns –a thousand problems. You're not a leader! You're a giant moron!"

"Hey!" He shoved himself out of his seat and closed the distance between them with one wide step. He glared down at her hatefully. "Dad made me Number One, one," Luther held up his index finger, "Because he knew I was the best choice, but you wouldn't know anything about that, Twist."

That was it. Andy lost herself in the rage he brought out. When they were kids, when she first came to the house, the others came up with a nickname for her. Being British and clearly from the streets, Luther and Allison thought they were oh-so-clever with it. They called her Twist, as in Oliver Twist.

Apparently they didn't realize that Oliver Twist was the good guy, the always-kind-and-well-loved character. They just used it for the obvious comparison.

No one had said it in a long time though, because, she thought, they'd grown up. Clearly not.

The memories of their taunts, their jeers, their overall "superior attitude" and the way they looked down their noses at her came back with a surprising intensity. While she was primarily ignored by them, whenever they "lowered themselves to speak to her", they were assholes. She couldn't keep it in.

"He made you Number One because you're the weakest!" She yelled. The air vibrated and a bevy of sodas and other drinks suddenly exploded within their cups all around them. "He made you Number One because the only thing you can do is lift up a boulder. What good are you, huh?" Then her voice dropped and took on a deep, hateful tone. "You've spent decades standing over everyone like you're the king or something, but everyone here is stronger than you and the Old Man knew it."

His bravado had wavered slightly, but she could tell he refused to let it take hold. Luther, with his eyes still locked to hers, tightened his jaw.

"You don't know what you're talking about." He growled through his teeth.

"I saw it in his ledger." She shot back with the same intensity. Luther flinched.

Andy backed off. She took a step away, but kept her eyes locked to his. The guilt was immediate. She hadn't meant to say it, not really, she'd just lost control of herself and the words came spilling out. It was the hurt on his face that did it, the hurt that made her realize how terrible she'd been.

The air was tense, filled with the unease her declaration had caused. Andy finally tore her gaze away from Luther's and chose to look at anything else. As she ran her fingers through her hair, Five spoke.

"And?"

Andy shifted and noticed that literally everyone was staring at her expectantly. She chewed on the inside of her cheek briefly. The urge to deny it all, to wipe away her statements was there, but how the hell could she do it? Her power was water, not time travel or anything mental. Whether she wanted to or not, Andy explained.

"I went through the stuff in his office when I first moved in." She admitted.

"Why?" Diego asked with a strange sort of judging confusion.

"Because I planned to run away." She answered as though it was obvious. "I was going to take whatever I could and sell it."

Klaus grinned, Five didn't seem to care, but everyone else rolled their eyes as though saying, _of course you were._ Screw them. They didn't know. At that time, she would have done almost anything to get out of that house because only freaks made kids practice on cadavers.

"Anyway," Five said sternly.

"I found his ledger." Andy continued. "I didn't get the chance to read much, but it said that he named everyone based on their powers –the higher the number, the stronger the kid." They all glanced around. Andy knew they were taking their numbers into account and looking at their siblings to see if they agreed with Old Man's assessment. "I didn't believe it, though. I thought it was bullshit."

"Why?" Klaus asked curiously.

"Vanya's Number Seven." She replied. "Until a couple of hours ago, I thought she had no powers, so his rank didn't make sense."

There were a few nods of agreement amongst the others, but Andy knew they were still trying to figure out their place in their father's system. For the most part, Andy was surprised she agreed with Reginald on anything. If looked at from the outside, that list made complete sense.

"Yeah, well," Luther cleared his throat and seemed willing to move past what she said. "We still need to look objectively at this."

"No, that's bullshit." Diego snapped. "Vanya's still our sister."

"She's dangerous." He shot back. "She killed Pogo _and_ Mom."

"I'm with Luther on this." Five said. "We're way past trying to save just one person. We have billions to worry about now."

"Hey, y'know guys, maybe I could help?" Klaus chimed in.

"Not now." Luther grumbled.

"Hey!" Diego said sharply. "Let him talk." The shock was instant, and Andy wasn't the only one to show it. Diego never catered to Klaus. "He saved my life today."

What happened next was perhaps one of the strangest things Andy had seen in a while (that didn't involve bloodshed). Klaus threw a bowling ball at nothing and while part of her wanted it to magically start floating because Ben caught it, she wasn't surprised when it didn't. Unlike the others, she believed Klaus when he said that Ben had punched him earlier that day. There was too much sincerity in his eyes for her to think anything else, so it broke her heart just a little that no one else seemed to care.

"For just once," Luther said angrily. "Do you think you could silence that voice in your head that just screams for attention?"

"Ya know what? I liked you a lot better before you got laid."

Everything went silent. The others were clearly shocked, but Andy couldn't help but smile wide in disbelief.

Klaus immediately tried to backpedal, but only made it worse. Andy loved it. She happily laughed at the entire situation until Allison stormed off angrily, and Luther followed after. When he did, Andy watched them disappear. Her confusion returned. Was Allison angry that Luther had sex with someone else, that he finally lost his virginity? Seriously? Didn't she get married and have a kid? So, did she expect him to wait around for her and never have any fun of his own?

_Bitch,_ Andy thought to herself.

She took a seat in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs and was prepared to go back into her own head when a plump woman with bright red hair and glasses suddenly appeared right beside them. A skinny boy was clutched firmly to her side.

"Excuse me!" She said in a chipper tone. "Uh, it's my son Kenny's birthday today and wouldn't you like to play with kids your own age? Assuming it's okay with your two dads."

Klaus and Diego looked at her with wide eyes. Andy fought the snicker, but didn't fight too hard.

Five, the angry little old man, leaned forward and said, "I would rather chew off my own foot."

The redhead flinched and looked utterly mortified by his cold tone.

"What a rude little boy." She said under her breath as she grabbed Kenny and shoved him back to their party.

Five, still upset for God-knows-what reason this time, shoved himself to his feet and stormed off. Andy couldn't help but grin. So much weirdness came spilling out just seconds after such a tense argument. She was relieved, honestly.

* * *

Everything had been so calm. Everything had been so nice.

Until _they_ showed up.

Men dressed all in black wearing gas masks and carrying automatic weapons opened fire on the Hargreeves family. Luther and Diego ducked behind one tower of bowling balls, while Allison, Klaus and Andy hid behind the other. Luther and Diego did their best to keep them back, but there were so damn many of them, and they didn't have much to fight with. Klaus had even used Kenny's birthday cake.

"They're blocking the exit!" Klaus yelled over the music.

"What's the plan, Luther?!" Diego shouted angrily.

He didn't speak, but Allison had an idea. She slapped at Andy repeatedly and pointed sternly down the lanes. Everyone else slowly began to realize what she meant.

"Okay," Luther called out. "On the count of three. One,"

"Wait!" Andy yelled.

Luther scowled at her. "We can't wait!"

She glared back. "Just wait!"

For seconds, nothing seemed to happen, until, finally, a dense fog began to roll across the floor. It moved as though it had a mind of its own, but it didn't. It was being guided by Andy.

A few of the family tentatively peeked out from their hiding place and saw that a wall of fog so thick they couldn't see through it, had formed around the shooters. While the soldiers still did their best to fire, they couldn't actually aim at anything.

"Go, go, go!" Diego shouted.

Now shielded as best they could be, the Hargreeves children and Andy launched to their feet and raced down the bowling lanes. The sound of blind gunfire followed them, but they were so close. They only needed to run a little faster, to make it through the hole that led to the back room, and they would be safe.

He dove, ready to slide along the bowling lane like they did in the movies when he heard Andy cry out. Klaus spun in time to see Andy drop to the lane, clutching her bleeding arm.

"Andy!" He shouted. The outburst drew the attention of his siblings, but being the closest, Klaus was the one to clamor toward her. On his stomach, half-slithering and half-crawling, he reached her. "How bad is it?"

Blood seeped through her fingers, but when he peeled them back, he was encouraged to see that it was nothing more than a graze. He sighed and his head dipped. She'd survived worse.

With a heavy smile of relief, he looked up at her. The smile instantly faded. Andy's eyes, already brilliant blue in color, glowed. Her lips were set in a tight line and he could feel the rage emanating from her. It was a little frightening.

Andy slowly rose to her feet, no longer bothered by the gunfire. In the background, Klaus heard Luther and Diego screaming at them to hurry up, but Andy didn't seem capable of hearing anything, not even when Klaus tried to get her attention. Her focus was solely on the shooters in the distance.

What followed was both horrifying and incredible.

The wall of fog disappeared in an instant, revealing the half-dozen men. They were slightly confused for only a moment before they noticed the clear line of sight. They took aim, and that was when she reacted.

Two shooters suddenly went completely still. Their backs arched, forcing their chests toward the ceiling. They shook and trembled like they were being electrocuted, but the truth was more horrible. Blood soon poured out from beneath their masks, gallons and gallons of it, and rose into the air like living tendrils of crimson. Andy swept her hands to the side and the blood, suddenly a dangerous projectile, sliced into and through two of the other shooters. It skewered them before it fell to the carpeted floor with a sickening thwack.

Another shooter took aim at Andy again. She clenched her fists and jerked her hands down. The shooter screamed in pain as his body contorted. He was pulled viciously to the floor in such an unnatural way that –from what Klaus could hear- every bone in his body had broken, as though someone had dropped a giant weight on him, maybe even a car, but there was nothing except Andy's will.

But there was still one left. With a ferocious roar, Andy spread her arms wide and brought her hands together with an intense clap. The last of the shooters vanished in a puff of torn black fabric and red. He'd exploded, his body vaporizing in an instant. Klaus had seen her do something similar to dry herself off, some little maneuver that pulled the water off her skin, but this was so disturbingly different. She had made a man explode from the inside out.

The entire space went eerily still. Music still played and disco lights still fluttered across the walls and floor, but nothing moved. There was no more shooting.

Klaus slowly rose to his feet and out of the corner of his eye he could see his siblings emerging through the maintenance door that led to the back where they'd been hiding.

"Holy shit," Klaus heard Diego mutter.

Eyes gradually shifted to Andy, mouths hanging slack in shock. She swayed on her feet as she turned around. Before she could even manage the simple task, Klaus saw her eyes (back to normal blue) roll back into her head.

She collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.


End file.
